The Sea Aflame
by Dizzydodo
Summary: AU. Selkie Haru knows better than to strike a deal with a dragon, but with Rin's life on the line he takes a chance... and finds himself bound to one very possessive Tachibana Makoto. Not content merely to be an untouched treasure, Haru sets about proving he has always been Mako's soulmate. Mako doesn't require any convincing.
1. Chapter 1

A.N.

Warning in this chap for a little blood/roughness, all consensual

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It was no simple thing to be fae in the world of men, Haru thought bitterly as he nimbly dodged past yet another grate embedded in the sidewalk outside the noodle shop Rin had insisted on dragging him to. Even a little over a century after the accords, iron dominated the city-scape and fringe groups continued to carry silver with them everywhere, ignoring all the published articles that proved beyond a doubt silver only harmed demons.

Personally, Haru thought the demons took their continual- well, demonization, with good grace considering reports of their devouring the souls of humankind had been on a steady decline for nearly two decades. Haru's own temper was wearing dangerously thin, however.

"I'm sorry," Rin offered, a sheepish smile playing about his lips. "I thought they were fae-friendly. They didn't throw such a tantrum over my tattoos."

No, and why would they? The myriad runes etched like scars down Rin's arms and across his shoulder blades denoted a master rank elemental of the fire clan; not a man to anger casually. Like his element, Rin's temper could be both explosive and unpredictable. Buildings had been known to burn like so much tinder and sparks to rain from the sky when he was unduly provoked. Fortunately he was in a scintillating mood today; enough that when the shop's owner had insisted he wouldn't serve Haru's kind it had produced only a handful of errant embers that danced across Rin's knuckles like so many brass coins.

"It's not your fault." Haru insisted with a wry twist of his lips. It was rare that the fae ever emerged from their enclaves to mingle freely, and the selkie more than most had been cautious about showing themselves even with the protection of a treaty. "I prefer seafood anyway."

Rin hummed his agreement, eyes darting observantly around the square as they emerged from the side-street. "Know any good places for seafood?"

Haru flashed him a mocking look, "All of them."

It wasn't an exaggeration. The only thing Haru loved more than eating was eating well, and after several centuries of making his way through the human realm he had certainly a amassed enough treasure to do just that. Rin's own pay was no small affair, most of his work occupied with delicate smithing even the most talented of human hands would never get quite right. An afternoon of indulgence at Haru's favorite place wouldn't lighten their purses much, but he wanted nothing so much as to be back within the safety of the enclave where curious eyes didn't follow his every footstep.

Some latent instinct warned Haru he was still prey in these men's eyes, even with lifetimes worth of cunning and the laws of the land to protect him.

"I was thinking we could head out to the docks, though, maybe see about catching our own meal-"

Rin's heartfelt groan put an end to his thought, "Again? I swear if I have to use another fishing rod I'll turn it into kindling and roast our supper over it."

"Fine. I'll hunt and you cook." He couldn't suppress a thrill at the thought; it wasn't often he got the chance to show off for Rin, frisking through the waters like the carefree pup he had never had the chance to be. When he had been young enough for those silly antics, men had still been combing the shores looking for selkie to bind to them, convinced making one of the sea folk their bride would bring them health, wealth and prosperity.

In point of fact it had seldom brought them anything but ruin. A vengeful fae was the most dangerous creature in all the world, and after years held captive away from their water and deprived of their very souls there were few selkie merciful enough to leave their captors without exacting a hefty price.

"Maybe we should just head back." Rin countered, uncharacteristically subdued. Haru glanced at him incredulously, noting the grim tilt of his lips and the way his runes had begun to glow softly, magnified by the afternoon sunlight.

"What is it?" Fire elementals were unpredictable, yes, but Haru was certain was more than the words of the shopkeep upsetting Rin now. He was glaring ahead at a small group heading in their direction, slowly fanning out into a semi-circle that would block any escape except an all-out retreat.

That was not an option any self-respecting fae would so much as contemplate.

"Wisps, I think." Rin murmured with studied nonchalance, lengthening his strides to place himself protectively before Haru.

"Wisps?" Haru questioned, extending his senses to feel for the nearest body of water- tepid water puddles, condensation on pipes, brackish mire in the pipes below them… there was enough for him to wreak a merry havoc if necessary, but not near enough for an extended fight.

"We were forced to exile a few recruits at the last gathering. Petty arsonists mostly." Rin's lips twisted in a contemptuous sneer. Alone he could probably take any two of these upstarts with no trouble; perhaps three if he had been conserving his energy.

Haru knew Rin well enough to know that his stores were likely all but depleted; the man simply couldn't help wielding his power at every available opportunity. "I didn't think they were going to be a problem. At least not this soon."

The second part of Rin's explanation clicked and Haru frowned, "Mostly arsonists?"

If possible Rin's expression grew even more severe, "One of them was a half-drake."

Haru sighed. There was nothing worse than interfering with a territorial drake; even a half-blood could do serious damage in these close quarters. Not to mention if any Humans got involved it would be a gross violation of treaty. Whether he and Rin won or lost this fight, there was every chance they would be spending the rest of the afternoon in a cell. Maybe worse. Some of the grand magisters still had a taste for seal-skin coats.

Resigning himself, Haru began a steady song, wending it through his thoughts until he felt the water he summoned leaping and dancing with eagerness to do his bidding. Most of it was tainted, the earth and muck making it slightly unwieldy and that much more volatile.

Good. It had been a mortal age since he'd had a decent challenge. Twice that since he'd had occasion to battle an actual drake, half-blooded or not.

"Rin!" One of the young men stepped forward, gesturing to the others to keep their distance. Haruka wasn't naive enough to think it was a peaceable gesture. Fire grew exponentially and even its most talented users had to be wary of getting caught up in their own flames. Of course water was an equally capricious mistress, but at least Haru had never lost his eyebrows and lashes to his element as Rin had when he first began his training.

By the time the young man- the drake, he suspected- was near enough to read their faces, Haru was grinning widely. He allowed a hint of teeth to creep into his expression when the drake's steps faltered into a stumble. Outnumbered did not mean outclassed as he was about to learn.

"I didn't expect to see you here." Rin returned, perfectly at ease. His voice dipped into a threatening register as he continued, "Especially after the Eldest commanded you to leave."

"The enclave, not the city." The drake countered, motioning to the buildings around them in a less than subtle reminder they were governed as much by the laws of humans as the fae here. Not that Rin could be bothered to give a damn.

"I understand that was your suggestion." The drake finished, all trace of his smile disappearing. Haru tensed in readiness, ignoring Rin's quelling glance. He had a tendency to forget who was the eldest between them, and a penchant for showing off that meant even as a novice he had hoarded most fights to himself.

"It was." Rin was the first to spark fire, making his tattoos glow ostentatiously. Much more and he would have ruined yet another good shirt.

Haru only rolled his eyes at the blatant showmanship, refusing to give Rin the satisfaction of gawking like an untried boy. His eyes returned to the runes when Rin finally refocused his attention on his would-be opponent; as an inimical element to his own, he was naturally drawn to flame though he could never wield it for himself. He had the creeping suspicion Rin sensed that and played to his curiosity as often as possible, preening over Haru's fascination with his craft.

Evidently the drake didn't care to be outdone- his novice's runes flared to blazing life, betraying his inexperience with their piercing brightness. Haru smelled singed cloth on the air, barely restraining the impulse to call his makeshift rain with every instinct screaming threat.

"Recant." The drake commanded, direct now that they had dispensed with any pretense of civility. Haru called his first trickle, relaxing minutely when he felt Rin take the wordless invitation to twine their two skills together, heating the water until Haru could feel an echo of it in the threads they wove.

"The Eldest's orders are absolute." Rin hadn't finished the thought before Haru lashed out, the scalding water taking the drake in his eyes- he seized Rin's shirt, hauling him back and away into a retreat he knew the elemental would be too stubborn to effect on his own.

The drake's wordless cry echoed in their ears as Haru yanked a sputtering, swearing Rin into an alley, barreling down the passage toward pure water's call. He could sense the enclave through that connection, feel the power the fae collectively imbued their elements with to keep the taint of the commons away from their city sanctuaries.

"They're gonna follow." Rin snapped, keeping pace anyway, "You should've let me fight him-"

"And risk turning the whole block into a cascading inferno with humans for kindling? We'll take them once we're beyond the boundary."

Rin huffed but didn't complain, even sped up when they heard the bellows of the punks on their trail. Stubborn he might be, but no fool at least.

They reached the waypoint in less than a minute, Rin calling power to his fingertips to trace the sigil 'welcome' there, intertwined with Haru's own. They didn't have a moment to spare for admiring their work but tumbled through into the shade, swallowed up by cleansing mist.

Their pursuers weren't far behind, banishing the mist with a fireball that singed the tips of Haru's hair as it blazed past.

Only two remained, the others trapped in the common city without the benefit of their sigils.

 _Easy._

He gathered the mist about them thickly, obscuring their forms even as he pooled the moisture in the air to mix with earth, the ground giving beneath the feet of their opponents even as they attempted to call their fire. No easy feat when they were hemmed in by water on all sides, but the drake at least had no trouble calling flame.

Haru, swift as he was, hadn't even had the chance to properly call a shield before he felt the sharp pain of the heat searing his sensitive skin. After centuries of peace he had forgotten the sheer agony of flames' tongues licking his flesh. For one critical second Haru lost his concentration, screaming in shocked pain and rage at his own stupidity.

He felt it the moment Rin clumsily pulled the threads of water from him, trying and failing to wield them like fire. He had no time to shout a warning, no time for anything but a desperate flail for balance before he hit the earth. Not that it would have done any good- the youngest uninitiated child knew the risks of calling an element so unlike their own and Rin was no exception.

A sharp pull and Haru liberated his water, unraveling the tangled skein Rin had made of his magic. He watched Rin stumble, choking like his lungs were filling, unable to hold his fire while grappling with the specter of the water magic. His runes flickered and died out one by one, sending a wave of fear through his partner.

All the battles they had already fought and this toothless whelp was the one to deliver the finishing blow due to no more than a careless error.

It wasn't going to happen like that. Haru summoned water again, reaching for the embers of the drake's fire coiled within him, turning the drake's own body against him until that ember began to smolder, the flames flickering on his fingertips becoming no more than wisps of smoke.

Haru wouldn't kill another fae, but he could damn well ensure the little beast couldn't call fire for decades without the feeling of water in his nose and throat, smothering him from within, drowning him on dry land.

He knew his work was done when the brat coughed and vomited, trembling as he fell to his knees, sheer panic in his eyes and disbelief written across his expression.

Rin still lay where he had fallen, sucking in great gulps of air as his fingers scrabbled for purchase. Haru caught his hands, wrapping a sturdy arm about his shoulders to pull him up, summoning what water he could and forcing the magic from Rin's body. He didn't have to be a master of fire to realize Rin's flame was flickering out too. If he lost it to the water he had tried to weave, no amount of time would bring it back.

That thought almost made Haru turn back to the halfling drake, tempted to douse the last of his flame in payment. The resolve must have shown in his eyes because Rin caught his shirt to stare him down, sternly mouthing "Don't" though his throat was too sore to vocalize it.

"On your feet." Haru chivvied him, sparing a last withering glance for their opponents. "I'll take you to the guild hospital."

For once Rin didn't even protest half-heartedly, a sure sign of the end of days if ever there was one. It would have been funny if Rin's skin hadn't been rapidly cooling beneath his fingertips, if the runes on his shoulders weren't losing their soft glow despite Rin's obvious attempt to hold his power.

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"I could save him."

Haruka didn't startle at the soft words. He had felt Makoto's presence from the moment the man had first entered the hospital, heard his light steps dancing up the stairs, even sensed the man's curious reticence as he had hovered just beyond the door.

"For a price." Haru finished the thought, twining his fingers through Rin's own. Normally Rin's skin was blazing hot, enough to make Haru's muscles leap and tense at the heat whenever he dared draw too close. It was a mark of the seriousness of Rin's plight that the guild hospital staff had piled blanket after blanket atop him and left an open fire blazing in the pit at the foot of his bed, coals scattered about the bed where he lay and a weave of scalding heat protecting him from even the window's errant breeze.

Rin should have been able to draw strength from it, make its energy his own. Instead he lay cold and pale, unresponsive to any of the doctors' myriad tests.

Haru tried valiantly to pretend he had not sensed the nurse's anxiety when she last checked his temperature, ignoring the intrusive memory of her disbelieving gasp.

Mako quietly shifted a chair into place beside him, sparing only the briefest glance for Rin, but then, Mako and Rin had not been fast friends for centuries, always together and never apart. To Mako, Rin had only ever been yet another fae creature in a city already full to the brim with them, without even the benefit of a respected name or exalted class to protect him.

"I cannot help my nature, Haru." He sounded sincere, but Haru could see the glint of avarice in his golden eyes.

Precisely what Makoto's nature was Haru wasn't certain. Most days he pretended to be human, though he only ever managed a pale facsimile of it. Malicious tongues- among them Rin's- said he was a demon, always on the prowl for a desperate soul willing to strike a bargain. His eyes weren't right for that, though, and Haru had yet to meet a demon that kept its home in the enclave rather than out among the high emotion of humankind.

They preferred to stay near their food source.

Haru had begun to think he might be a changeling or perhaps even a shapeshifter, but neither would have the power to save Rin.

For all his faults, Mako never lied.

"He's dying. What happened?" Mako did not pretend to be overly invested in the answer, but Haru appreciated even the effort to draw him into conversation.

"A minor guild clash. We were ambushed by children." Haru chuckled bitterly "He was trying to protect me, but our magic-" Haru's voice faltered on the last words, the memory set in painful relief before his mind's eye.

Mako hummed quietly, drawing subtly closer. "I am grateful that you're safe."

"But not enough to take on a debt to him?"

"It is not my debt to pay." Mako shrugged, "Unless, of course, you are willing to pay my price."

"And what is that, exactly?" Haru bit out, tightening his grip on Rin's hand. Mako's gaze flicked to their entwined fingers. He reached out and gracefully pried Haru's hand away, settling it in his own like he had the right. Haru bridled at the casual intimacy, but did not protest.

A spark of awareness raced up his arm, raising goosebumps in its wake; it had always been like this between them. For a time Haru had even suspected they might be mates, but whatever Makoto was, Haru was certain it was not Kindred and Selkie never matched outside their own kind.

Mako's thumb played over the steady thrum of Haru's pulse, a new smile hovering about his lips that raised his hackles. Rin's life was hanging in the balance and this bastard was calmly considering how much he could gain for saving it. Perhaps he was a demon. A devil, even.

"If you give me your pelt, I will restore him."

Haru jerked away instinctively but Mako's grip on his hand never relented, his thumb still glossing over Haru's racing pulse.

"What?" All his preplanned responses deserted him, the offer so unexpected it knocked every other thought from his mind.

For centuries Humans had hunted his kind and their pelts, taking them as pets or worse. Even other Fae had joined in, making a sport of destroying selkies' pelts, confining them forever to their land-bound forms. There were so few left that remembered those days, immortal lifetimes cut short for the sake of petty cruelty. Haruka remembered though. He was one of the few ancients left that remembered the days when they could not reveal their kind; when even their own Kindred had not known where their pelts were kept for fear they might be coerced into telling.

His pelt was neither more nor less than his soul, and Makoto casually demanded it of him in the same breath that he offered the life of Haru's oldest friend.

The silence between them stretched on until it was almost a living being between them. Haru couldn't begin to fathom the thoughts swimming behind Mako's eyes, but he refused to look away all the same, willing Mako to listen and understand.

"That's a very steep price."

"It's not an easy thing to drag a fey creature back from death. We cheat it so often that once it has its claws in us even a little, it is reluctant to let go. If my price seems unreasonable to you, it is because I will not escape unscathed either." Makoto's lips thinned, eyes brightening with an unholy fire. "You would have to make it worth my while."

"But my pelt? You would have no use for it." Haru pressed, holding on to his studied composure by the merest thread. "There must be something else."

Mako chuckled mirthlessly. "I don't bargain, Haru." His lips twisted with distaste to even mouth the word. "You know my condition. Will you accept it?"

"After all our years as friends, you know what you're asking. You know that it is cruel." Haru drew icy indifference about him like a protective cloak, but between the two of them Mako was by far the more proficient at that prized attribute of the fae. Haru wondered who- or what- had taught it to him.

"I am only willing to offer these terms because you are my friend. But there is no need for you to answer now; I want you to be very certain of your answer before you give it." Mako pushed himself to his feet, moving the chair back into place. He clamped a hand on Haru's shoulder, his grip firm and strong. Despite everything, Haru still drew comfort from it.

"I'm sorry, Haru."

That wasn't the whole truth. Haru sensed there were far more words Mako was not willing to speak. He was wise enough to know he would never hear them, either. Mako hoarded his secrets jealously, even from his oldest friends.

He pulled away, making for the door on feet as quiet as a cat's before Haru's voice stopped him at the threshold: "Done. In bond and in blood."

Haruka could hardly force the words past his tight throat; the ceremonial declaration became but a whisper of sound. Still, it was enough to forge the bargain between them. Haru's gaze was fixed on Rin's pale face so that he did not see the flicker of surprise quickly followed by satisfaction, that flashed through Mako's eyes.

Makoto wasted no time gliding across the room to Rin's bedside. He took a limp hand in his own, brushing back Rin's flame-red hair in a surprisingly tender gesture. He leaned down, and for the barest second Haru thought he would kiss Rin like some Prince Charming come to life.

Haru stood quickly, fists clenching on the chair, fighting back an unexpected surge of fury-

Then Makoto drew a shallow breath, pressed his lips to Rin's own, and…

Breathed fire.

Haruka froze, anger evaporating in an instant to be replaced by awe, swallowed up by a chill of shock. _Dragon fire_. Tachibana Makoto was a dragon.

The color returned to Rin's cheeks almost immediately, and small wonder after such a gift; fire elementals had always been closely entwined with dragons, back when full-blooded dragons had existed. Bloodlines had become so mixed it was rare to find a dragon that could summon even a candle's flame, let alone breathe fire as was their birthright.

To find two in one day capable of wielding the element- Haru shivered with unease.

Nothing less than a full-blooded dragon could breathe life, and the toll was plain to see etched in the lines of agony on Mako's face, the way his fingers clenched in a white-knuckled death grip on the edge of the bed, body already swaying with weariness. It was no easy feat to banish death itself.

He glanced up, jade eyes flickering to amber, curious patterns shifting and changing just beneath the skin of his face and neck like swirls of ink dissolving in water. Never had he looked less Human than he did in that moment. Something within Haru stirred in response, a little patch of feral wildness too long disguised by his thin veneer of tameness-

Haru ruthlessly kept it in check, swallowing the warning growl that rose unbidden to his lips. He hadn't made such a novice mistake since he was a pup, when there had been far fewer Human ears to hear it. He couldn't quite stop it when he saw the way Mako's fingers combed absently through Rin's hair though, checking the man's color for himself.

Whether he was protesting the casual intimacy on behalf of himself or his friend, Haru no longer knew.

"He'll live." Makoto murmured, voice subdued and a little hoarse at the edges. "Though it will be a day or two before he wakes." Mako faltered, bracing himself against the bed for its support. "As for our bargain, I will take your blood as surety."

Haruka blinked, hardly processing the words. "In bond and blood" he had said, the ritual words that bound all fae, but seldom was the latter actually demanded any more. It was an insult, a sign of Mako's distrust that he would ask it now, but dragons had ever been a mistrustful lot when it came to matters of possession. Which he was now, Haru thought bleakly. Mako had demanded his pelt, something selkie had only ever willingly offered their mates, and even then in the strictest secrecy.

He was disappointed Mako thought so little of him, but after what he had witnessed, understanding drew the sting from the offense.

"Of course." He said, pretending his world wasn't unraveling beneath his feet. He brought his forearm to his mouth, discarding his glamor and allowing his teeth to sharpen.

Mako's hand stopped him, drawing his arm away. "No. Allow me."

Haruka nodded firmly, flicking a glance over Mako's shoulder, watching the steady rise and fall of Rin's chest. It went against his nature, allowing another to harm him even with his consent but he was acutely conscious of the sacrifice Makoto had to have made in offering his fire- a price at least as steep as Haru's own pelt.

Except Mako didn't prick his skin with dragon's claws, didn't rend his flesh with impossibly sharp teeth.

Instead Mako's arms closed around him, pulling him close so he could bury his face in the crook of Haru's neck to take in his scent. He leapt at the feel of warm lips pressed to the skin there just before Mako pulled away to claim his mouth in a kiss just shy of savagery.

Everything in Haru responded to it, his body turning soft and pliant as he melted into the embrace, letting Mako tilt his head just so, relishing the biting grip of his fingers as they sunk into the skin of Haru's jaw to pry it open, slipping his tongue past wicked fangs with no care for whether they might pierce him.

Haru bit, purring as the tang of blood flooded his mouth. Mako groaned into the kiss, leaning forward to press Haru into the door behind them, inhuman strength serving no better purpose than to pin him there.

How long since he'd had this? Too long ago for Haru to remember. The question seemed infinitely less important than when he could have it again-

There was a sharp pain as Mako returned the favor, sucking at his tongue in a lewd gesture, mimicking what Haru was beginning to hope Mako would do to his cock-

They sprang apart, sanity returning all at once, both of them panting, neither the collected men that had first entered the room and neither prepared to pretend their world hadn't been shaken to its foundation.

For once Haru was the first to recover himself, carefully easing back into his glamor until his eyes didn't spark such an unholy blue and his teeth looked perfectly benign. He still tasted Mako's blood, it sang in him until he was nearly drunk with the sensation but with an effort he contained it.

"Is that enough?" The words barely shook at all, though he could hear a tinge of breathlessness in his tone.

"Yes." Mako breathed, ragged and barely above a whisper. Haru ignored the surge of satisfaction at how easily he had made Mako come undone. It was no victory unless he had managed to keep his pride, but both of them had come undone like untried pups.

Mako blinked, and his glamor too slipped back into place, the streaks of gold and bronze in his hair fading to the dull sheen of a human's and his eyes no longer shifting and mercurial in their color.

"You should stay with him tonight." Mako offered, and Haru could sense what it cost him to say it. He swallowed the lingering kernel of resentment at how easily his pelt had been stolen from him, banished any thought of their unexpected kiss and nodded once firmly.

Dragons could seldom be parted from their treasure, and when they were every tale was very clear it was never at their own behest. He wasn't about to question Mako's unexpected generosity, just as he wasn't about to leave Rin's side until his friend woke.

Mako watched him only a moment longer before he fled, knocking against the door with uncharacteristic clumsiness.

Haru stayed, fingers brushing over his warm lips as he wondered what the hell had happened and if there were some way he could ever win his soul back.

Worse, some tiny traitorous part of him wondered if he would even want to once Mako had finished with him.

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Many thanks to my beta for the title. This was almost "Every Dragon has his (Happy) Ending". She dissuaded me. Barely :p

As always, reviews (especially concrit) are lovely!


	2. Chapter 2

Not in over half a millennium had Makoto felt so alive. Nearly delirious with the rush of adrenaline following on the heels of that first kiss, he stumbled out of the hospital, nimbly dodging the staff and bodily shoving any other obstructions out of his way until he emerged at last into the sunlight.

Not even that could banish the frost from his bones, his fire was still leeching away, bound up with both Rin and Haruka.

It had been foolish to take Haru's blood then. What spark he had left after gifting Rin with his fire, with his essence, was nearly overwhelmed by Haru's lively, tricksome water magic. A younger fae would have been overcome; after so many years without drawing on his power as he passed in the human world, Mako hadn't been sure even a being as old as he was equal to the task.

But it would have been unworthy of him to steal Haru's soul without at least offering his unbreakable bond in return.

His dragon blood was restless now, woken from its sleep. His skin writhed and contorted, wings and scales threatening to escape with only Mako's stranglehold on his concentration keeping it at bay. It was easily the hardest thing he had ever done, his mood as light as any cloud with the taste of Haru lingering on his lips, the new bond between them singing in his thoughts and a savage sense of _victory_ coiling in his gut. What more natural impulse than to shed his human form and take to the sky?

He swallowed it down ruthlessly, sucking in a breath of air and holding it until spots danced at the edge of his vision.

They were civilized now, the fae, they chose to abide by the laws of their human counterparts to better live among them. Though it was only ever a thin veneer, and there were still factions that refused to mingle with creatures of dust who carried the scent of death with them from the moment they were born.

He had been but one of a handful of dragons that had sacrificed their primal forms for the peace. The glamor had been stiff and heavy as ill-fitting chain mail at first, but gradually Mako had adapted well enough that he could almost convince himself the hollow in his spirit owed itself entirely to an incomplete bond and not to the specter of a dragon's madness. Now that certainty was threatened and he had only himself to blame.

Mako grinned, flexing his shoulders to adjust the fit of his jacket until it no longer chafed his over-sensitized skin. It had been worth the sacrifice, whatever came next.

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Curled at Rin's bedside in an oversized chair the night nurse had been kind enough to bring him, Haru found he still couldn't sleep. No sooner would his eyes drift shut than the image of Mako would flash before his eyes, eyes swirling with the stamp of his heritage or lips upturned in a smile that for once Haru couldn't decipher.

Dragons kept their word, yes, but they hoarded their secrets as carefully as any other possession and Haru sensed Mako had kept something from him. It shouldn't have bothered him; Makoto had promised him the very day they had met that he wouldn't come to harm.

Of course, much had changed since then. Haru had bargained away his soul to a dragon, for one. For another- Haru's finger unconsciously ghosted across his lips once more, a tiny thrill of nervousness and excitement settling in his gut- for another, that kiss had reawakened a suspicion long laid to rest: that he and Mako might be mates.

A Selkie had never matched outside their kind, they had been a solitary race by necessity until the accord, and even now few ventured beyond the shade. It had been at least half a century since the last mated pair found each other, but their rituals were different from others of the fae. His kind craved freedom above all else; they did not suffer the same all-consuming need for their mates most other fae described.

Would it be any wonder then if it had taken a bond of blood to wake it in him? Haru intended to find out right after he pried the last of Mako's secrets from his lips.

He reached for Rin's hand, sighing in relief at the heat that emanated from it. Once again Rin burned hot as a furnace and though he had yet to open his eyes Haru could see the color returning to his face. Neither one of them were ever going to live down that ambush, and Haru at least intended to imprint it into his memory, a warning that even the best of them could fall out of favor with luck, but they were alive at least.

Rin would wake in the morning the doctor said, and then Mako's end of the bargain would be complete. Meaning all Haru needed to do was fetch his pelt from its hiding place and present it to its keeper. The idea of willingly imparting his soul to another was still deeply unsettling, all the more so knowing dragons only ever surrendered their treasure upon their death. For all his hope there was no guarantee Makoto was his mate, but for better or for worse they would be intimately bound.

After their fight and the panic of seeing Rin's ashen face, his helplessness in the face of his friend's distress ,and Makoto's eleventh hour bargain, sleep would probably be beyond even his abilities, Haru conceded ruefully.

He had just stood to work off some of his hectic energy by once again pacing the room when the door burst open, banging against the wall so hard it nearly closed on the woman responsible.

"Rin!" Gou's voice was loud enough to wake the dead, let alone the patients in the room across the hall. She winced, clapping a hand across her mouth when she caught Haru's warning look, but wasting no time making her way to her brother's bedside, slamming the door shut with her heel.

"He's fine." Haru murmured, reluctantly letting go of Rin's hand.

"He nearly _died_." Gou countered, chafing Rin's hand while her eyes searched his face for life. "Has he woken up at all?"

"Not yet."

She hissed quietly, Haru tried to ignore the small tear that slid down her cheek to fall onto the covers.

"He will, I promise."

Gou's eyes flashed up to meet his, studying Haru's face intently. Whatever she saw there satisfied her because Haru could see the worry for Rin fading from her face, replaced by pity for him. "Have you been here all day? You look awful."

"Thank you, Kou." Haru returned drily, obliging her with the name he knew she preferred. Had Rin been awake he would have needled her mercilessly and they could have slipped into a conversation as familiar to him as his reflection. As it was, Haru found he had no heart to tease her.

"I only meant you look tired. Have you eaten?" Her eyes swept up his form, ostentatiously lingering on his shoulders a bit too long, Haru noticed with amusement. She was nothing if not resilient, and Rin was burning with the warmth of life. "I'll stay with him while you go."

"No, I'll stay." Haru made a conscious effort not to curl in on himself, giving every impression of a man thoroughly at ease even while he wanted nothing more than to retreat into himself and begin teasing at the riddle that was the bond he shared with Makoto once more.

Gou had eyes only for Rin anyway, perching on the edge of his bed to adjust his pillow, watching like a hawk for any response.

Whether it was Gou's presence or the day finally catching up with him, gradually Haru's eyelids began to droop until at last sleep claimed him.

!

!

It was not a restful sleep, plagued by nightmares of water and hunters, dragon fire and a creeping sense of loss that overshadowed all else.

In his dreams, he dipped into the ocean of his earliest memories, but the rush of water that swallowed him was no mother's embrace. It filled him with dread, seeping into his nose, flooding into his mouth when he opened it to draw breath or perhaps to scream, he no longer knew. He was tossed about on the waves, all his struggles useless against the current and the shore receding into the distance no matter how hard he swam for it.

He never made shore, yet somehow Haru stood in a desert of golden sand as far as the eye could see. An insidious thought niggled at him, fear prickling the hair on his skin: where was his pelt? Where could he have hidden it here in this endless wasteland? He dug into the sand, cursing with frustration when it only flowed into every hole as fast as he could dig them.

Glancing up at the sky, he could see clouds skidding along faster even than the thunderheads he had loved to watch as a kit but offering him no shade or respite, lit from within by some unholy fire he worried could rain down at any moment.

It was only a dream, wasn't it? He could feel the sun scorching his skin as the hours wore on, feel the soft sand catching beneath his nails and searing his palms, his lips drying and cracking until he tasted blood when he ran his tongue along them. Not in all his life had he ever strayed so far from his element; there was no water to draw on here save his own sweat, stinging his eyes.

"I have it here." A familiar voice whispered in his ear, instantly soothing the beginning of his panic. Haru could have wept for joy at the feel of his second skin draped over his shoulders, Mako's sturdy arms closing about him to envelop him in it, offering back what he had fairly stolen.

"We're safe, Haru." Mako's voice crooned, his lips finding that same spot on Haru's neck they had brushed mere hours past. He knew it for a dream then, and the desert around him faded like its treacherous mirages to leave them safe in a place Haru thought he should have recognized, but the thought hovered just beyond his memory.

He turned in Mako's arms. It was his dream, after all, and he could do as he pleased here without consequence, so Haru draped them in his pelt, drawing Mako into its comforting embrace, offering more than a dragon could ever understand with the simple gesture. For a moment Mako's eyes widened with shock and flickered into the warm amber Haru had so admired, his pupils contracting into feline slits.

The next Haru drew him into another kiss, languid and sensual, his tongue playing carefully along the edge of a fang, distantly surprised when he felt the sting of its cut on the tender skin of his tongue. He purred with contentment, deft fingers twining in Mako's hair to tug with mute demand.

Even in his dreams Mako eagerly obliged him, a hot, calloused palm gliding down his spine until Haru arched into him, basking in the heat of his skin-

The warmth of sunlight woke him, combined with the hum of a whispered conversation, one voice light and rapid, the other uncharacteristically subdued. A thin blanket lay draped about his shoulders, sliding off onto the chair and floor, though the other occupants of the room were too distracted to see it-

"Rin." Haru started awake, bounding out of his chair and into Rin's reach, unsurprised when his friend pulled him into a reassuringly sturdy embrace and pound his back enthusiastically.

He laughed, his relief too much to contain. "I can't believe you finally took a night off."

"I picked a hell of a day for it. Did they catch those shits?" Rin snorted, glancing to Gou who had tactfully stepped back to watch them with a faintly indulgent expression.

"We'll catch them soon enough, it's not your problem now." Her last words were sharp, the narrow-eyed glare a caution to them to keep out of sentinel affairs. As an apprentice tracker of the fire guild born well after the treaties had been implemented, Gou had no memory of the days when fae had sealed their vendettas personally. She had no tolerance for private vengeance either, though it ran rampant even in the greater enclaves.

Rin however, was a product of his time and Haru was certain Gou could see the defiance reflected back at her. "Well, I suppose as long as they don't make it my problem." He rolled his eyes to Haru, sharing an understanding glance.

If the guild caught up with them, so much the better. If not, as ranking members of an elemental guild and the Kindred respectively, they could deal with the problem themselves.

"You _just_ woke up, they fled yesterday and we already have two in custody."

"Thanks to us." Rin interjected, nudging Haru with a sharp elbow.

"Give yourself- and me- at least a week before you do anything stupid."

Haru's ears pricked at that, "And you?"

Gou beamed, straightening her spine and clicking her heels together snappishly. "Journey _woman_ sentinel Matsuoka Kou is on the job."

"Congratulations."

Haru murmured, just as Rin cut in with an emphatic "Hell, no. You're too young, Gou. You have at least another five years before you can make journeyman."

Gou's smile widened, taking on an edge Haru recognized from those few arguments Rin had won fairly. It was there for only a moment before she contorted her expression into one of mocking surprise, "That's right, you haven't seen my new papers yet."

From her jacket pocket she pulled a small scroll of animal hide- Haru tried not to laugh, but it was impossible not to chuckle at least. All their most important documents were still signed and sealed in those scrolls. This one bore the crest of the chief sentinel, and if Rin's complexion as he swiftly unrolled it was anything to go by, it said exactly what Gou claimed.

Haru read over his shoulder, arching a brow at the bold crimson stamp in the center of the scroll, Gou's commission spelled out with fae runes for all to see. Journeyman Gou.

"Son of a bitch." Rin breathed, his color deserting him once more. "I-"

Haru pinched Rin only lightly, just enough to remind him that while Gou might be his little sister, she now had the authority to detain him.

"I suppose I should congratulate you." Rin finished, swallowed whatever he had first intended to say.

Gou laughed, "And I suppose that's enough for now. I'll take my scroll though." She snatched it nimbly from Rin's fingers, rolling it up once more and tucking it safely back in her pocket, her hand unconsciously clenching about it as though to protect it from any other reaching hands. "I'm here as your sister now, but we'll need to talk later about the incident."

"I'll have that out with your master." Rin's color was returning quickly, Haru noted with relief.

Gou shrugged, "Suit yourself. He's not going to revoke my rank though, not even for you."

They stared each other down with matching stubborn frowns until at last Haru came between them. "Rin should be resting, and I'm sure a journeyman has far more duties than a novice."

He almost felt guilty at Gou's concerned glance. Of all of them, he knew best that Rin was well out of danger. It simply wasn't a discussion he wanted to have with Rin's baby sister in the room. Unless he missed his guess, Rin's reaction to the news was going to be explosive.

"You're right. I'll be back this evening though." Gou's voice lacked its usual sprightliness, she nodded to Rin, visibly restraining herself from a last exuberant hug, and bowed out of the room.

"Journeyman." Rin growled, his tattoos flaring to life. "She can't do that. Can she? How long has she been a novice?" His gaze turned inward, doing the math himself. Time could be a little odd in the enclave, and Gou had ventured freely between the two worlds for so long it would never flow quite the same for her. Rin had been raised among humans, and even years later the idea was still strange to him.

"Rin." Haru cut in before he could launch into what was sure to be a spectacular rant. "I need a favor."

Rin blinked incredulously, snapping out of his thoughts so quickly it gave him mental whiplash. "Sorry, I misheard you. What was that?"

Even among friends, the elder fae did not ask for favors. In all their time together, the word itself had hardly ever crossed Haru's lips or his. _Favors_ were not something a wise man asked of the fae, even if that man was fae himself. Not that Rin would ever have taken advantage of a friend, but the knowledge sat heavy in the silence between them that he could demand a price.

Haru sighed, and Rin thought he could detect a hint of exasperation to it. "A favor, Rin, of you."

"That's what I thought you said."

Haruka's eyes lit with mischief, glowing with a supernatural light as he allowed his glamor to fade, "I could invoke a debt, if you prefer."

"There are no debts between us."

Haru laughed clear as a bell, an inhuman sound that sent fire racing to his palms, gathering in the tattoos etched across his back with the sudden need to be free. The effect was dizzying after that last, panicked moment he had felt Haru's water swallow up the last ember of his magic. Now he blazed with life, a nearly bottomless well of magic was his to call on, whatever the healers had done they had done well.

"There is one, though I wanted to make it a gift." A tinge of melancholy soured Haru's smile, but Rin wasn't left to wonder at it long. "You owe your fire to Tachibana Makoto. We traded fairly, he and I, and it is yours."

 _Makoto_? Rin tilted his head questioningly, the last and most crucial pieces of the puzzle eluding him. How could he owe his fire, his life to Makoto? What did Haru have to trade?

With one sentence, Haru answered both his questions: "Dragon fire for a selkie's pelt."

The last pieces clicked into place and Rin was helpless to keep his flames from burning out of control, sending Haru leaping back from his bedside.

"Makoto's a _dragon_? _Your pelt_? Haru!"

With an effort he doused his flames, thankful they were in the fire guild's hospital. It had been years since he had forgotten himself so completely.

"Haru, what have you done?" Rin growled. There was a debt between them now, one Rin knew he could never pay if they lived an eternity. His fire was as much a part of him as his skin and bones, but Haru's pelt? He knew what that meant, Rin knew the cost.

"We have to get it back."

"And break the bargain? No. That's not the favor I need."

"Then what?" Rin breathed, eyes pricking with tears of anger. He had never been able to trust Makoto completely, for all Haru swore he was a close friend. What manner of fae kept their nature hidden, he had wondered, before deciding Mako must be a demon, always set on acquiring whatever was most precious.

He wasn't a demon apparently, but he had still stolen- no, taken- a soul in exchange for his power.

"I'll need to get my pelt, obviously. I'd like you to accompany me."

Rin's mind swirled, too many questions crowding in at once. He was beginning to seriously regret waking up.

"Normally it's a solitary ritual, but I have something to ask of you. After."

"I'm not going to like this, am I."

It wasn't a question, so Haru didn't answer.

!

* * *

!

Ensconced in his bed with the coverlet tucked about him like a nest, Makoto stared at the pattern on his ceiling- constellations mapped out with careful precision to match the way they had looked when he was young. The night sky looked different now, but he carried this memory with him wherever he went and in every home designed it from memory once more.

Most days his eyes traced the images with a bitter sort of nostalgia, remembering nights he could have glided freely so much closer to those stars than with his feet planted firmly on the ground. This morning he hardly saw them at all, thinking instead on the moment that Haru had draped the pelt about his shoulders and drawn him in close.

It was only a dream of course. For Haru. For Makoto it was memory, and not a kind one. He hadn't realized their blood would bind them so tightly or so quickly for Haru to walk his dreams unimpeded. It left him feeling profoundly unsettled, but after all that he had no one to blame for it but himself.

Most of the dream had faded, but the feel of Haru drawing him in, carelessly offering his blood once more in a gesture that appealed all too much to the dragon, the alien feel of that intricate pelt wrapping him in Haru's warmth.

His breath shuddered out of him, hands clenching in the down coverlet- this would have to be the last time. He would have to set wards and be watchful lest Haru strayed into his dreams again. Though after his own unrelenting nightmares, it had been a sweet interlude indeed. He allowed his tongue to play along the edges of his teeth, feeling the edge there, remembering Haru's tongue slipping past, exploring leisurely without care for how trustingly he bared himself to a dragon's fangs.

Mako wanted to _nip_ -

His cell phone chimed and if it hadn't cost him so much energy to call Rin back from his 'tween state he would cheerfully have incinerated it. As it was, there was a noticeable growl in his tone when he answered with a clipped, sharp "Yes?" shot out like a bullet at the fool that had disturbed his pleasant interlude.

There was a reason he employed a zashiki-warashi as his chief of affairs, and it had everything to do with the way Rei could not be bothered to care whether his boss was spitting fire or cooing like a dove so long as he was keeping those affairs in order.

"You were due at the office nearly an hour ago and I require your seal on several time-sensitive customs documents. Shall I lay them aside for tomorrow?" Rei's tone was unfailingly professional as per usual, but Mako detected a trace of surprise underlying it.

He was not himself, that much was plain. No one knew what to expect of a courting dragon, least of all Mako himself. Not for the first time he cursed the secretiveness that ran in every dragon's veins, compelling them to seek out knowledge as greedily as any other treasure yet forbidding them from sharing it even amongst themselves.

"I'll be in." He modulated his tone, flinging the covers off resignedly and disconnecting from Rei. The sooner he tended to his business, the sooner he could turn his attention to finishing the preparations for receiving Haru. Selkie preferred to be near their pelts, and Haru would be no exception in that respect.

At least, Mako devoutly hoped not. He was keenly aware of the responsibility he had assumed; Haru's soul was in his hands, but it would be a hollow victory without the man himself. He was a greedy bastard, a true child of his kind that wanted nothing so much as to take Haru whole and leave no part of him untouched.

Soul, body, and heart, all coming neatly into his possession, if not quite in the order he would have preferred. He had tired of waiting patiently for Haru to notice him, though, and had seized his chance the moment it presented itself.

It was not the slow, traditional courtship of the Kindred, but dragons were not given to hesitation or patience when treasure fell neatly into their lap. After so many years of willfully suppressing his desires, Mako was beginning to remember that for all his civilized airs he was still very much a dragon.

His glamor was already beginning to feel too small and unwieldy, more like the leash it was intended to be than the shield the fae pretended to have willingly adopted. Yet the smile slowly creeping from his lips to his eyes was entirely unfeigned, and his footsteps impossibly light.


	3. Chapter 3

Late afternoon found Rin picking his way through narrow, twisting streets no human had set foot on in decades, following Haru's form a few feet ahead. Though the fae had done all they could to ensure their enclaves did not warp reality irreparably, there were always these lost places in any city; little hollows between worlds that both had left unclaimed and untended. Rin had never seen one for himself of course; these slivers of Elsewhere tended to hide things that wanted to be forgotten, and they did not care to be disturbed.

Haru seemed perfectly at ease, nostalgic even, the ghost of a smile hovering about his lips when his gaze fell on a straggling weed pushing its way through the broken cement path or smears of dull paint upon the walls that might once have been murals. Rin could still see him watching, relaxed but never off guard.

"How much farther?" He was struggling not to see the shadows that occasionally darted and flickered at the edge of his vision. If he looked too long he suspected they might lead him down a more sinister path.

Haru's tone drifted back to him, patient and soothing. "I don't know. Stay close."

He hissed when Rin took him at his word, treading on his heels clumsily. "Not that close."

"Something's off here." That was putting it mildly. Rin's skin wanted to crawl off his bones and away from this place. If it was a place. It felt almost like a thing, breathing and moving and stalking him-

Haru snorted, "I couldn't just leave it lying around for anyone to find, Rin." He glanced back over his shoulder, raking his friend with an assessing look. "I told you we should've waited until tomorrow. We can still turn back?"

"I'm fine." Rin snapped, bristling at the implication that he was anything less than hale, hearty, and strong. His pride had taken enough of a beating to last a lifetime without staying in the hospital for another night. There was no need anyway, his skin fairly glowed with new fire. He feared some of the faces he saw in the shadows might be drawn to it and if Haru's tone was anything to go by, he suspected the same.

"How the hell do you even lose your pelt anyway?"

"It's not lost." Haru wasn't snapping, but Rin thought he could see a hint of temper in the set of his shoulders. "It's forgotten."

"Ah, okay. Now I understand."

Haru smirked, "Good."

Wonderful. He was traveling with the Sphinx of Thebes.

"How do you forget something this important?" Rin pressed, shivering when he felt the wind plucking at his shirt. It was the wind. Definitely just the wind.

"Very, very carefully." How Haru could laugh at a time like this Rin did not want to know, but he heard its echo in every word. "We're almost there. Only a little longer, I think."

Rin barely stifled a heartfelt groan. He was no coward, but this place didn't recognize him and it certainly didn't want him poking around too much. The feeling was mutual.

"Here we are."

Rin wasn't sure what he had expected. Legions of grim spirits, a river of fire, perhaps even a fallen god or two had topped the list. At first glance the scene before him was unassuming, frightening only in the sense that it was unexpected.

Walled in on all sides by the brick buildings around them with leaves and refuse swirling in the air with only the failing light to illuminate it stood a torii. Cracks spiraled along its wooden pillars, but the lacquer and paint were still a vivid black and red, the gate obviously kept up by some mindful custodian even as the world around it fell apart. That didn't set him at ease in the slightest.

"No." Rin said firmly, but his feet remained stubbornly planted. He wasn't leaving without Haru.

"In and out, Rin. It won't take long."

He couldn't know that. Not in a place like this where all the fae's precious rules applied only when they cared to. The Elsewhere already warped reality, placing this ticking time bomb in it-

"Have you done this before?"

Haru slanted him a disbelieving glance. "At least once."

Of course. If a Selkie was going to abandon his pelt where better than a place even the Eldest would think twice before entering? No Human could blunder their way here, and no fae would be stupid enough to pursue anything save the most coveted of treasures beyond such a clearly marked boundary.

"All right. Let's go." The words came easily enough, though his throat suddenly felt dry and parched. His feet once again refused to move and Rin refused to glance down at them, half afraid he might find something staring back up at him.

Haru linked an arm with his to pull him along until at last he moved of his own free will. One foot carefully in front of the other, hand clenched white on Haru's arm.

"Don't let go. Not even when we're on the other side." Haru cautioned needlessly. It would have taken a crowbar to separate them; Rin's grip was unbreakable.

He forced himself to keep his eyes open, willed his flames to stay banked though he thought perhaps the warmth might have comforted him. No need to make them a beacon for any passing predators.

There was no gut-wrenching sense of being displaced, but Rin could not have mistaken this place for anything but an Elsewhere even were he blind and deaf: it was night beyond the gate, he thought. Tongues of fire danced gaily ahead of them but barely penetrated the all-consuming darkness with their frail light. He looked away instinctively, leery of anything offered freely. He thought he might have heard the thin sound of a child laughing or maybe a cat's wail when he forced himself to turn away but from the corner of his eye he could see the lights still dancing there, waiting to lure the unwary traveler.

Before them stretched row upon row of wooden buildings: grand, multi-storied affairs with their shops' curtains in shades of cerulean and royal blue, smaller shacks that hardly seemed like they would fit more than two grown men sandwiched between them. Music drifted to his ears, loud and hectic as though it could banish the pall that nevertheless hung over the scene. The scents… mouthwatering aromas of savory dishes, but a tang of sweetness beneath that reminded him of death and sickness.

As though reading his thoughts Haru spoke again, voice finally betraying an inkling of the trepidation Rin felt: "Don't look at anything too long, don't listen long enough to hear the songs' melodies, don't touch any food or drink that's offered to you, and don't offer our names to anything."

 _Anything_? Rin only hummed his agreement, fighting the urge to look at the flames again. They danced next to him at eye-level, teasing, welcoming. They sensed his magic, he knew that much, but what they wanted with him Rin didn't intend to find out.

Haru began walking, long strides that ate up the ground, not glancing at any one building but taking them all in with a sweeping glance. He seemed to settle on one in the distance- one of the grander buildings; no curtains hung in its entrance and Rin's straining ears heard no music, joyful or otherwise. He caught himself nearly humming along with another tune and quickly changed it, wincing at Haru's vicious pinch.

He matched his strides to Haru's, eager to be out of this place. Finally he had clued in to what that nagging sense of something not quite right had been trying to tell him since they first stepped through the gate: there were no stars, no moon, and no way he could pretend it was only the clouds blocking their light. All that hung above them and before them was an infinite blackness.

"Ha-" A vicious elbow in his gut cut him off, Haru's glare taking on a very fiery quality for a creature of water. Rin growled at him, annoyed that Haru thought him so careless, doubly annoyed because he wasn't sure if perhaps Haru's name had been about to trip off his tongue either. "Have you noticed there's no moon?"

"Yes." Haru said shortly, breathing a sigh of relief. "Not here anyway."

Odd. Most of the fae tied to water nearly worshiped the moon. Their festivals gave thanks for the tide, for the glint of moonlight on the water to light their way… once they were safe he resolved to ask Haru about that telling remark.

They stepped into the establishment Haru had settled on, swallowed up by a chill unlike anything Rin had felt before. His magic quailed from it, unresponsive when he tried to call fire to warm his suddenly frigid fingertips. His teeth began to chatter uncontrollably, nails digging into his palms with the effort of holding back a fit of trembling.

He glanced to Haru, working his jaw to see if he could ask whether it was meant to be like this, how long it would last-

If anything Haru looked hot. Sweat was gathering on his brow, exposed skin tinging pink as though he had been too long in the sun. He was swallowing convulsively, wetting a parched throat as he resisted the urge to tug fitfully at his smothering clothes. Just as quickly as the chill had set in it left him. Haru was panting softly, forehead creased with lines of strain. He didn't call his water, and Rin took his lead though he wanted nothing so much as to call his flame and burn this whole damned place to the ground.

"Ah, friend! Forgive me, forgive me." A beaming older man stepped forward to greet them, never touching, always keeping a careful distance between them. Once the spots had cleared from his eyes Rin glanced around in open-mouthed astonishment; in contrast to the eerie scene on the streets outside, this little place looked downright welcoming.

Fire, true fire, burned in a pit placed in the center of the establishment. If the creatures seated around them were definitely not any semblance of human, they at least were absorbed in their food and drink, some few whispering together with no regard for the strangers in their midst. There was no cloying scent of death here, no haunting music or will-o-wisps to lead them astray. No darkness either, the shadows banished to the furthest corners of the common room.

The floor beneath his feet was wood worn thin by generations of feet, scuffed and warped in places but well-kept and waxed to a dull sheen. The smoke from the fire hadn't dimmed it any, escaping through a hatch in the roof. Still, the scent of that warm blaze was enough to set him at ease; a reassurance that there was light and life here, even if it was hidden away. Rin began to breathe normally at last, giving silent thanks for a brief respite. It hadn't been as bad as he had expected; all that was left was to collect Haru's pelt from the smiling gentleman and they could be gone.

Haru was asking for a quiet table, something in the corner, one of the few tables with candles, and water for himself.

"What are you doing?" Rin murmured, "Grab it and let's get out."

"I need a drink first." Haru said firmly, leveling him a meaningful look. What exactly it meant Rin couldn't puzzle out, but he had seen that look often enough to know it was deathly important Haru get his drink.

"I can offer you something stronger." The old man chimed jovially, allowing them to make their way to the table Haru had set his eyes on. "Is there anything I can bring for your friend?"

"Nothing for him. Water for me." Haru repeated.

"Do you have-" If glares could kill a man the one Haru leveled at him likely would have stabbed him in the heart several times over and left him to bleed out all over the thin cushion he settled on.

The keeper was still smiling pleasantly, hovering at his elbow. Rin eyed Haru once more, silently demanding an explanation he wouldn't have until far later and waved the old man away. "Never mind. I'm fine."

Finally the old man drifted away as Haru sank onto a cushion, allowing himself to spread out over the table bonelessly. He didn't look up as he muttered "Same rule here. Don't take anything they offer. Not food or drink. Nothing."

"Right. Nothing." Rin echoed dryly, "Except apparently the water. Which I suppose I'm also not allowed to have?"

"Yes." Haru confirmed on a deep sigh. "The water is for me."

"Drinks!" A familiar voice boomed above them, curiously loud for such a frail old creature. He lowered the tray, setting a crystal glass before Haru filled to the brim with pure, unassuming water. With a twinkle in his eye the old man offered a second cup, clay and unadorned. Sake.

Rin waited until the man's back was turned before deliberately pushing it away. Here of all places he didn't want to cause offense, the memory of that winter's breath biting into his bones until they ached even now held him in check. Yet tired as he was he suspected if he didn't push it away he might steal a thoughtless sip. Haru's pallor suggested that was the last thing he wanted to do. He couldn't help wetting his lips when Haru downed that first sip of water, sighing as though a great weight had just been lifted off his shoulders.

"This place seems nice." Rin offered, trying to break the silence, wary of a trap he sensed he couldn't see.

Haru smiled but it was a sickly imitation of his usual expression, a dead man's grin. He took another sip, careful that not a drop escaped his mouth, and reached out to snuff the candle between them.

Rin nearly leapt across the table in his surprise. The comforting inn-like atmosphere was gone: the table beneath his hands was rotting, eaten away by time. He dared a glance at their fellow patrons and blanched: most of them had simply vanished, but those few that were left stared vacantly off into space, unseeing and unmoving. He watched their chests for any tell-tale sign of breathing and found no sign of life.

Yet everything the light of the small fire touched remained unchanged, alive, or life-like at least.

The master or keeper- whatever the hell he was- drifted to them, slanting Haru a disapproving look. He, at least, remained unchanging, all except for his clothes. Gone were the simple, muted colors of a moment past. Now Rin could see a robe spun of vibrant copper and scarlet shades, symbols of rank woven into the cuff of his sleeves so intricate as to leave no doubt he had centuries on both their lifetimes put together and then some. The keeper raised his hand, to do what Rin didn't know and wasn't about to find out. Hurriedly he called his fire and lit the wick. He didn't hear Haru's gasp of shock, didn't see the old one's eyes open wide in disbelief before he lowered his hand once more and moved placidly away.

"What the hell was that?" Rin whispered, eyeing their fellow patrons once more, relieved to see they all looked somewhat normal once more.

Haru shook his head as though banishing an intrusive thought, but he didn't take his eyes off the flickering candle as he replied. "You know better than to trust your eyes here. This is a sanctuary of sorts, but it's not untouched by this place."

Rin nodded, wanting nothing so much as to make his way to that pit of fire and warm himself once more. He had the feeling he never could after this. Not entirely.

Haru finished off the last of the water, grimacing slightly. "I know where we're going."

Nervous, tired, and half-convinced he was losing his mind Rin snapped "You didn't know where we were going? Did you honestly bring me here for a drink and a sick joke?"

"What? No." Haru shook his head, pushing the crystal glass toward him, not a drop of drink left. "I needed to remember. Now I do. And we need to leave."

Rin glanced at the glass, back to Haru and again to the master tilting his head to listen to a customer's request in the far corner.

"Sounds good. Where to?"

"Just a little farther."

Which told him less than nothing but Haru was already moving for the exit, leaving on the table behind them no more than two tarnished coins.

The memories still didn't fit quite right in Haru's mind, too long abandoned and eager to be forgotten once more. With every step they became more clear though, woven through with snippets of the same repetitive music that assaulted his ears even now. He glanced worriedly at Rin, trying not to let his concern show too plainly on his face. Rin was unnaturally drawn to this place. Haru mentally kicked himself for not expecting it; he had brought a fire elemental with him to a place where only the essence of things could remain untouched. Fire in its purest and more primal form flickered in every lantern, in every half-safe shelter.

And Rin had lit the candle again. Haru's skin prickled with unease. This place devoured shades, and what magic the elemental guilds wielded was a frail imitation of its true form. Except Rin's apparently. Haru wondered if that too had been a gift from Makoto or if his friend had always had such depths. Whatever it was Rin himself seemed unaware of it, but it was little wonder the creatures here all marked his passing with watchful eyes.

They marched out of the makeshift 'town' and into the wilderness, neither one muttering a word of complaint as they found themselves picking their steady way through a marsh. They were safer here than among the gathering, certainly but not by much. Haru picked up his pace, relieved that they hadn't encountered any real trouble.

Somehow it seemed tamer than the last time he had ventured here or perhaps that was because Haru himself had lost some of his wildness.

"Those little flames are following us." Rin whispered, fire gathering at his call once more.

"Corpse candles. Don't chase them and we'll be all right."

"I guessed that." Rin muttered dryly. "But when will they take the hint and leave?"

"They're harmless. Leave them alone." He shot a quelling glance at Rin, who tried valiantly to pretend he hadn't been considering fighting fire with fire. At last the frail light of his markings died, though he still looked vaguely rebellious.

Silently giving thanks that their destination was so near, Haru tugged him close. "See the outcropping ahead? We're close."

Rin hummed noncommittally, still watching the damnable corpse candles from the corner of his eye, scanning the blackness around them for any threats. Haru would never admit it, but his skin was prickling too. To have come this far without even a hitch was unusual. There was a reason so few of the fae ventured this far; it was the very same reason Haru had stashed his pelt with one of the guardians: only the very desperate, the very ill or the dying ever came here.

For the rest of their steady march he didn't speak a word, and if Rin found the silence unsettling at least he had the good sense not to break it.

Haru's memory of the rocky outcropping was crystal clear: the prickling, stinging sensation of glass shards digging into his bare feet, the whispers of faces he could never see no matter how he strained his eyes though the voices seemed to come from just over his shoulder, the wind that blew soothingly through his hair, ruffling it with a mother's tenderness until suddenly it tried to pluck him from the gray rock face and dash his body to pieces on the jagged rocks below.

Tonight the wind was still, and the only voice he heard was Rin's muted grumbling as he reluctantly took his shoes and socks off. He tried not to think of what this might mean for the safety of his pelt. Surely he would know if someone had stolen it away?

When at last he set his bare foot on the stone, Haru was surprised to find there was no jagged spike of pain. Nothing but smooth, unblemished rock slightly cool to the touch. His eyes widened until they were as big as saucers in his pale face while Rin looked on with mounting unease.

"We need to hurry." It came out on a choked breath, a second away from pure panic. Thankfully Rin didn't question him- they darted nimbly up the rock face, scrabbling for purchase in shale and dirt until at last they came to darker volcanic rock. He could breath again, the feel of the moon's pull as soothing as sunlight on his skin. It was still here. Exactly where he had left it. Haru heaved a sigh of relief, forgetting his gnawing nervousness and discomfort in the space of a second. His pelt was here, and its guardian with it.

"Are you all right?" Rin barely bit back his name, Haru could hear it in the peculiar hesitation just before he spoke. Here more than anywhere else it was vital they keep those to themselves. He nodded reassuringly, leaning into the rock to bask in its coolness for a moment.

"It's here. We've found it."

"Good, then let's get the hell out. What d'you need my help with?"

Haru chuckled, eyelids fluttering shut with the fatigue of being overwrought for far too long. Before he turned his pelt over to Makoto's keeping, he would wear it once more, though after so long he suspected it would feel alien and foreign to him.

"Hey-"

"I need you to witness a binding."

"A _what_?"

Already climbing again, Haru couldn't spare the breath to answer.

!

* * *

!

Haru couldn't have said for a certainty how long they climbed. Without light or even the facsimile of it he had no way of knowing whether minutes or hours had passed. By the time they reached the small alcove, panting and sweating, he was wondering what the hell had ever possessed him to hide his pelt here.

Then they stepped within and he remembered.

The space around them warped, much like the gate that had led them here, but this was a wrenching he could feel down to the marrow of his bones. The torii was meant to exist. This hiding place was not.

Rin followed cautiously behind him, biting back a gasp of surprise at the scene that greeted them: stars. Millions upon millions, more than he had ever seen in the night sky even before the advent of street lamps and sprawling electric cityscapes. And presiding over them, a full moon whose brilliance hid the stars around it.

The moonlight washed over the trees that surrounded them; a veritable forest with every kind of plant, some small and warped while others had grown tall and strong. Even flowers dotted throughout, the smell of night-blooming jasmine tickling his nose with its sweet scent. Were it not for the black volcanic sand crunching beneath their feet and the heavy silence that blanketed the picture, he could have believed himself in any of a dozen other forests. It had always been the silence that wore on him though; no birdsong, no chirp of crickets or the scuttling sound of life in the undergrowth. In the clearing ahead of them he could see a lake, water lapping against the shore as though moved by the tides. The only life in this place resided in the water.

Haru's breath left him on a shuddering sigh, his bare feet dipping into the cool kae with a muted splash. He could feel his pelt here, and with that knowledge came a sense of peace such as he had not felt since he downed the water of Lethe. He wouldn't take it though, not without offering his thanks to the guardian that kept it. Courtesy was more than a suggestion when dealing with a fallen god.

"What is this?" Rin whispered behind him, ill at ease and no wonder since he was quite literally out of his element. Haru flashed him a reassuring smile but no sooner had he opened his mouth to respond than the moon's reflection in the water began to ripple.

The man that pushed himself out of the water without disturbing its smooth surface was thoroughly unremarkable. If one discounted the unearthly glow of his skin or the striking aquamarine gaze that caught Rin in its focus and refused to release him. He forgot how to breathe, lost in a maelstrom of the vicious pull of riptide and rushing water-

The man blinked, turning his eyes to Haru for one precious second and at last Rin could gulp desperately needed oxygen.

"Has it been that long already, Nanase?"

All the warmth vanished from the creature's expression as its eyes raked Haru's form.

"I need it," Haru answered simply with an unapologetic shrug of his shoulders.

"You must have paid the toll." It wasn't unfriendly exactly, only Rin didn't know what to make of that tone. Haru wasn't answering it, though. "And you brought another for my keeping?"

Those eyes turned back to him again, mercifully not stealing his breath away this time. Rin shifted uncomfortably, not sure what to make of the dedicated scrutiny.

"No, he will leave with me." Haru answered at last. He shifted slightly, almost as though he was trying to draw the being's attention away from Rin.

The creature smiled, an expression stiff with disuse that sat oddly on his solemn face and stepped out of the water gracefully, not caring that the dirt smudged his bare feet. Haru walked forward boldly to greet him at the water's edge, passing him to dip into the water and wade out to the moon's reflection where he had first risen from.

"Hold up." Rin chimed in, nervously approaching the water. His fire wouldn't do him any good here. Not with the water's influence so strong. Why Haru had brought him this far he couldn't begin to guess.

"Stay there." Haru offered, remembering Rin's presence at last. It was easy to lose himself in the past here, memories of the past overlapping seamlessly with the present. "Stay with Sousuke."

The man at his side- Sousuke- seemed to bridle a little at the casual tone, but he didn't correct Haru. Rin barely bit back his questions. Who the hell was Sousuke? Why had Haru left his pelt here of all places? What was this… thing? Of course Haru didn't think to answer any of these unspoken questions, he was hardly a mind-reader. Instead he drew a breath, smiling wide and recklessly at his old friend before he threw himself into the reflection with perfect abandonment, leaving Rin alone with Sousuke.

It was the first name he had heard since he had first set foot here, and despite himself Rin began to feel slightly more comfortable.

Sousuke sighed, "This will take time. You should make yourself comfortable." He gestured around the space- artificially contrived ledges carved into the rock around them the better to rest on, the sable sand that seemed disconcerting given the darkness without, the pale moonlight all around them that by rights shouldn't exist. How could there be a moon here?

Mentally Rin resigned himself to a state of permanent confusion. His dismay must have been apparent from his face because Sousuke chuckled softly, leaving Rin to his own devices as he made his way to one of the smaller pools of water scattered throughout the unnatural forest. Rin followed thoughtlessly, intrigued and wary all at once. But Haru had named this man, had left his pelt somewhere in this sanctuary. That had to count for something.

"So how do you know Nanase?" No harm in saying that name if Sousuke had said it first, surely. Rin tried not to make his uncertainty too obvious, compensating for his wide-eyed nervousness with a charming smile that had won his way out of more than one corner.

"Haruka and I go a long way back."

Rin relaxed a little more, unbending enough to sink down next to Sousuke on a discrete bench fashioned to look like part of their natural surroundings. He chose not to dip his feet in the pool of water as Sousuke did, recalling Haru's warning that elements here were true to their nature and entirely undiluted. He had already been a tad too intimate with water little more than a day ago and had no desire to repeat the experience.

"More to the point, who are you? A friend I assume if Haruka brought you here willingly."

"Have you ever seen someone force him to do something he doesn't want to do?" Rin muttered. "He dragged me along before I knew what was happening."

"This is not the sort of place you should be without a firm intention."

There was enough of a bite in Sousuke's tone that Rin couldn't help snapping back defensively "My intention is to get out of here as soon as possible, preferably in one piece. It's very firm, trust me."

Sousuke smiled again, genuinely amused but ill accustomed to it. "Haruka wouldn't leave you, and I'm sure he wouldn't have brought you if he wasn't certain of his ability to take you out again."

"Then I have nothing to worry about, do I?" Rin huffed, leaning back against the rock. While the stone outside had been punishingly cold, he could feel the warmth of this place seeping through his shirt and into his skin. Tired as he was it was a battle to keep his eyes from falling shut, but his mind was buzzing with questions and for the first time he had found someone that seemed both qualified and willing to answer them.

"Where is 'here' exactly?" He tried carefully, tongue nearly tripping on the words. Admitting there was something he didn't know had always been a challenge, and this was no exception.

Sousuke's eyes widened slightly, obviously perturbed. Rin glanced up as a smattering of stars scattered, streaking across the sky above them.

"It's a place for lost things, I suppose. Things that didn't fit in the new world, that couldn't survive there or prefer not to. We're banished here."

"Banished is a strong word."

Sousuke shrugged, "Not strong enough." There was a tinge of bitter melancholy in his tone that Rin couldn't help responding to. He turned slightly, taking the time to really look at his strange companion.

The preternatural glow to his skin echoed the pale moonlight that lit the scene; his features were common though appealing in an earthy and very tactile way, a mouth perhaps a little too big, drooping eyelids giving the mistaken impression of fatigue. Rin's eyes scanned over what he could see of him, what wasn't hidden beneath the thin bathing robe he wore.

He hadn't noticed the freckles at first speckled down Sousuke's neck and arms, a few dotting the back of his hand. Rin wondered if he had seen sunlight at all in the past century or if they were naturally occurring, conveniently arranged to match the visible constellations above them.

A sneaking suspicion took hold then, one he did not dare voice aloud. It was too outlandish to be true anyway.

His inspection ended on Sousuke's face, startled to find those unsettling bright eyes watching him again, darker in shade now. He couldn't read the thoughts behind that impassive gaze at all. It was unusual for a fire elemental not to sense the emotion underpinning every glance, but Sousuke's eyes were as still as the pool before them and reflected nothing back at Rin save himself.

"Who are you?" The question fell between them as heavy as a gauntlet, but Sousuke lifted it gamely.

"I? I'm the man that doesn't even know his guest's name." Sou slanted him a pointed look, but in his preoccupation Rin hardly noticed it.

"I meant what are you?" Rin rephrased, gaze flicking unconsciously to the moon.

"Ah." Sousuke shifted slightly and Rin jumped nervously, "I am what you suspect."

"Not the sky." Rin snorted.

"Not the sky." Sousuke agreed affably, "Only one of its aspects."

 _What. The. Hell._


	4. Chapter 4

Beneath the water Haru drifted aimlessly. He had lost the light nearly as soon as he dove in, as expected. The pool had seemed shallow and still, but like everything else here that was only a treacherous mask to lure the unwary. He let instinct guide him for the most part, ignoring the currents and eddies that tried to catch at him and sweep him away. He was tempted certainly, but this journey had already been enough to test his mettle and Haru found that with his pelt so near his patience for the game was beginning to wane.

So he drifted, correcting his angle occasionally, allowing his hands to find purchase wherever they could, though more than once they found cutting shelves and prickling stings. Though the inky darkness clouded his vision he forced his eyes to stay open even as the icy water began to sting and burn. Once Sousuke had kept all manner of creatures here: his constant companions and the assorted curiosities he had found before his exile. Beauty was in the eye of the beholder as the saying went, and Sousuke's tastes were like nothing Haru had ever encountered before. His pets would have been monsters by any other name- too many limbs, too many teeth, eyes that could trap a man until he happily drowned in them or claws whose wicked gleaming had made Haru's gut clench with the knowledge of how easily they could rend flesh.

Sousuke loved them as only a god balanced on the brink of insanity could. Haru however was not eager to meet any of them with his eyes shut.

Farther and farther down the current pulled him until his lungs ached for want of air and the pressure threatened to squeeze his last breath from them. He never could have allowed Rin here, especially not so soon after his trauma. Haru clung to that thought- the memory of Rin lying in the hospital bed so still and pale. Any thoughts of Mako he promptly forced out of his mind, not sure he could afford the distraction.

He couldn't help a shudder of excitement when he spotted it at last: the washed-out blue and green phosphorescence that marked the entrance to Sousuke's cove. Haruka made for it as quickly as he could, his chest spasming with every thwarted attempt to breathe and head spinning from being denied too long. His first breath when at last he breached the surface was like swallowing fire, his eyes clenching shut despite his best efforts and hands flailing for anything other than the droplets that slipped right through his fingers. His pelt would make the return journey far kinder, but that was precious little comfort when his body was already protesting the work it had taken him to reach this point.

When he could open his eyes again Haru was surprised to find he was bleeding. His once neatly trimmed nails were jagged and short, cuts and abrasions scattered across his hands that tinged the water about him pink. Hurriedly Haru made for the rock shelf before him and hauled himself out, casting a suspicious glance back at the water for any sign of life. The light was dim even to his keen eyes but he didn't hear any ripple of movement or see any tell-tale signs of it.

Where were they? Had Sousuke grown so weak since they had last spoken? It took a toll on him, Haru knew, safeguarding this little glimpse of paradise from the jealous eyes of his own former kind. But to sacrifice all the living things that had made his exile bearable… Haru worried. All the more when he thought of Rin above the water, probably exploring every hidden corner of Sousuke's domain already. Endlessly inquisitive himself, Sou would be loathe to part ways with like-minded company. Here in his home Haru had no hope of forcing the issue either. Sousuke was not unjust, but he was a god and all who revered him knew better than to expect him to follow a human code of morality; not all of Sousuke's companions had followed him here willingly.

Haru moved faster, depending on sheer luck to keep him from blundering into any stray sinkholes, wracking his brain to remember which paths would lead him to the center of the natural labyrinth and which would lead to the void. If he thought too long the ways might change beneath his very feet, trapping him here until Sousuke's moon shifted to its brightest phase. His powers would be at their height then, but after all that time Mako would undoubtedly consider their bond broken. That was not a risk he was prepared to take.

A gust of wind ruffled Haru's hair, freezing him in his tracks. There were no openings this far below the water, and Sou was not one to issue such a blatant invitation as an unguarded entrance to the sort of things that lived in this pocket dimension. The next flurry brought with it the fetid stench of rot and decay. _Fuck._

Maybe Sou hadn't sacrificed his companions at all, perhaps they had simply outgrown their fishbowl.

He turned, clenching his fists at his sides and scanning the way he had come with wide eyes. In the shadows something stirred; Haru allowed his glamor to lapse, unsure of how the encounter would play out. In theory, the beasts should have no objection to his taking his own damn pelt. In practice they were viciously protective of Sousuke's possessions, and Haru's pelt had rested among them for so long they might not recognize a prior claim.

The creature that crept out before him wasn't quite a horse, for all the humans liked to call them "water horses." For one thing, Haru had never seen a horse whose neck was gilded with silver scales before, neither one whose eyes glinted back at him with such feline menace. Patches of moss clung to its coat, what he could make out of it, and its straggly mane had more the consistency of seaweed than the coarse hair Haru remembered. At least it did him the courtesy of appearing before him in its truest form. He dared to hope that was a good sign. They were all creatures of water, kin after a certain manner of speaking. The trouble with kelpies was how little they cared for things like blood and kinship, and their innate sense of mischief that all too often ended with their 'playmates' dead or dying. Why Sousuke had such a fondness for them, Haru had never been able to guess.

Slowly, alert for any sudden movement, watchful of its lips lest they peel back to bare the deadly fangs beneath, Haru held out his bloodied hands. Young as this one was he was wary of offering it a bloody anything, but it should know his scent-

Its lips peeled back and Haru started, weaving a song to pry the water from the beast if necessary. Instead it craned its neck, as wary of him as he was of it, lipping at his hands reluctantly. With a snort it skittered back suddenly, legs flying in directions Haru was very certain they shouldn't be able to go, muscles bunching in preparation for a frantic flight as its unsheathed claws skittered on the stone. It bolted before he could even draw breath to murmur empty, soothing words of reassurance, vanished back into the safety of the depths.

Haru's gut churned; the kelpie hadn't been so wary of him last time. In fact he had carried a very pretty scar just below his left ribs that had lasted for a little over half a century. A lucky thing it and its siblings had been only infants then or he might have died. Short of the centuries that had passed him by, Haru could think of only one thing that had changed since their last encounter and that was his blood bond with Mako.

Mako. He didn't have the time to dissect that thought, so once again Haru forced it to the very back of his mind and pressed on until at last the rock beneath his feet turned to water and silt once more.

 _Here._

The cavern opened up before him, ceiling so far above even Haru's keen eyes could not see it. The pewter gray rock was ivory here, disconcertingly similar to bleached bones; he had wondered a time or two in the past if that might not actually be the case. The sand too had changed, coarse and unforgiving beneath his feet, pinks and grays catching what frail light the phosphorescent water offered and magnifying it. Haru tried not to see the ripples in the sand, the peculiar shifting and twitching that looked like a living, breathing beast.

The air was frigid, raising goosebumps on his skin once more; Sou had advised him not to linger here the first time he had brought him. A man could have frozen to death before he realized he was cold, and while the fae were more resilient, the temperature was punishing even to him. Distantly Haru noted that the water was slow to respond to his call, sluggish and and resistant; his magic was chilled by the gathering cold. He set off at a lope, ignoring the pain stinging the soles of his feet that felt more like fire licking at his heels than stone. Pain was the cheapest price one paid to find this place.

Too soon the frail light was lost and Haru was forced to slow down, hands groping before him, lips twisting with distaste whenever they found slime or insects. He didn't think he could ever scrub away the feel of beetles racing up his arm or the sticky sap that resisted his every effort to wash it away with sand or water. Even Sousuke rarely came here and the place had not benefited any from his benign neglect. More than once he tumbled over steep drop-offs, wrenching ankles and knees in unexpected holes or catching hands on strings that felt like roots but that cut him deeper than even the finest of knives.

It craved his magic more than anything, that second life source the fae took for granted, but it contented itself with his blood and sweat. The third time he felt one of the wicked tendrils clamp about his foot to yank him into the dirt, already stained with flecks of his blood, he finally gave in and drew his glamor about him. Normally there was nothing simple in shaping a glamor, blunting his claws and teeth, dimming his eyes and hiding the preternatural beauty that had always drawn human hunters to his kind. It was shockingly easy now, smothering him like a thick blanket as though it had only been waiting for his summons.

The world cleared before his eyes, dim light creeping back into the scene, the sand no longer burning him and his cuts healing as though they had never been. If Haru was not precisely welcome then at least he was no longer so actively despised. He drew himself back up to his feet, striding with purpose toward a gleaming white rune on the wall. This damned whateverthehell it was had been leading him circles, pricking and stinging until at last it had tasted his magic. His glamor felt slimy and tainted for having been forced on him. Haru hated this place, but it was still being far gentler with him now than it had ever been in the past.

 _Fire purifies_. A tremor wracked his body at the words, as though Mako himself had whispered them in his unsuspecting ear. There was nothing a dragon's fire could not melt, nothing it could not cleanse. Haru sensed that whatever guarding spirit Sou had set upon this place knew that, and rightly feared it. Not that Mako would ever so much as find his bones if he vanished here, but his pelt was close and if the water was slow to respond then at least he could still sense it.

He was not defenseless, and with his pelt once more in hand this place would no longer trouble him.

The rune began to glow at his approach, inviting him to touch. Haru had been young enough to accept the invitation the first time, but with experience came wisdom. It had taken him the better part of a day to find his way out of the labyrinth it had trapped him in. This time he waited patiently, as Sou had laughingly taught him to do once he had clawed his way up from the deep all those years ago, ragged, panting and still jumpy after something had licked his back.

Haru's skin twitched violently at the memory. Sou didn't keep the Minotaur, but whatever it was down there had clearly enjoyed selkie meat because Haru had barely evaded its fangs as he scrambled for the faint light that marked an exit. The maze had been arid and dry, the perfect hell for a creature of water who couldn't sense his element anywhere near. Haru had wondered at the time if that particular trap had been devised for those that touched the rune or the creature kept there. Sou hadn't given him any clues, and Haru didn't like to dwell on the question much either.

He hadn't been waiting long when a strand of violet slid down the wall like a raindrop on glass, dripping into the sand to light a slender path. It led into the stone wall on his right, but Haru didn't hesitate to follow. Each rune bore its own meaning, each lit its own path and knew the way to the object Sou had keyed it to. Haru wasn't surprised in the least when the stone gave before him like a mirage evaporating in the desert. Behind him, the makeshift path faded as though it had never been. He could have found his pelt on his own from here, memory alone to guide him, but sometimes the path changed and Haru was wary of outstripping his guide. Sousuke had always favored nonviolent means of dealing with intruders, but for the fae it was possible to be lost forever; Sousuke certainly didn't bother looking for the fools that ignored his safeguards.

It didn't take long for him to finally find the chamber where he had consigned his pelt. The air's temperature dipped even further until even drawing breath pricked his throat and chilled his lungs. Haru clenched his teeth shut against their chattering and made his way to the edge of the iced pool at the chamber's center. There beneath the ice in the very center of the pool he spotted it. White gold, dove gray and gossamer-thin, it twirled madly beneath its glass cage, trying in vain to reach its master. He strode across the surface, wincing as his skin caught on it. He gathered the strands of his magic and willed the water to release him so that his skin would not tear.

The ice creaked and groaned, resisting him. Sousuke was master here, and Haru's interference only barely tolerated. It remembered him though, and gradually the ice that contained his pelt began to thaw. Of all the horrors Sousuke kept, all the traps and blinds, this was the easiest and yet worst part of the reclaiming. He could not take without first giving back, and with his precious coins spent upon the keeper, the only thing of value left was his name.

Haru knelt there above his pelt, barely hesitating before he began sketching upon the ice, releasing the glamor just enough that his claws could etch his name there. The guardians tasted his name, that was the only word for it. They weighed its syllables, pried into its secrets and all he had ever been, all the paths to whom he could become that even the most gifted of seers would not have glimpsed. It wasn't a pleasant feeling- like being bumped and jostled on a busy street, tossed around like a leaf on the breeze or stranger's hands rooting through his possessions, casting away what they didn't care for.

It was no easier the second time than the first, but finally his name was his own again- cast back at him like so much refuse. He had no way of knowing what had been taken from him; it was a kindness in a way that even the memory of it was gone, but for the fae memory was a precious thing. Unlike the body it didn't last forever. Whatever had been taken could not be returned so easily as a sip of water- it simply wasn't there anymore, and the place where it had been already felt like a tender scar. He didn't pluck at it like he had the first time, gaze fixed on his pelt as every last vestige of his old power began to seep back into him again, bringing with it a hectic joy more intoxicating than even Sousuke's most carefully brewed sake.

In his moment of inattention the pelt freed itself at last, clasping him tight as a mother's embrace- Haruka didn't bother stemming the tears of commingled relief and regret that slid down his cheeks. It had been too long since he had felt this, and he was no longer sure it had been worth all those centuries of being separated merely to protect a soul he had still chosen to bargain away. Especially since Mako could so easily stretch out his hand and never let him feel it again. If he'd had any lingering thoughts about abandoning his pelt to Mako's keeping without the safeguard of a bond, that dispelled it. With Mako's fire in Rin's veins and Haru's pelt in his keeping, it wouldn't take much for Rin to bind them.

Makoto could hold his soul as long as he liked, but Haruka had no intention of meekly surrendering it.

!

* * *

!

Irrepressible as ever, Rin had only managed to entertain himself for twenty minutes or so before the novelty of gawking like a hayseed at a fallen god had worn off. It had been an hour since Haru had submerged himself beneath the lake and he could only occupy himself so long nervously drumming his fingers and eagerly watching the surface for any ripples of movement. How long could selkies go without breathing anyway? Haru had to be reaching his limit down there.

Keeping a wary eye on Sousuke, who appeared to be sleeping though Rin could feel the man's- god's- eyes watching him wherever he went, he picked around the cavern for something to do. Haru had trusted Sou enough to leave his pelt here, and that was all the assurance Rin needed that this place at least was safe.

"Is any of this real?" His voice didn't echo, that was the first thing he had second was the scent of brine though the lake itself seemed to be fresh water and he could find no source for it.

Sousuke stirred, twisting to dig his elbows into the soft sand and propping his chin on his hands. "All of it." He glanced up at the moon, eyes tracing a constellation in the stars before amending his words: "As real as I can make it."

Rin was used to the half-answers; he didn't press. Instead he made his way to one of the twisted, stunted trees that dotted the sand here and there to run his fingers over the jagged leaves. They were soft, but his fingers pricked with uncomfortable sensation wherever they touched. "What are these?"

"Some of my earlier attempts." Sou nodded to the huge trees whose canopies cast shade where none was needed, blocking only the moonlight."Imperfect I know, but I couldn't bring myself to get rid of them."

"No, I guess not." Rin agreed absentmindedly. Absorbed in his study, he didn't notice when Sousuke levered himself to his feet, dusting the sand from his skin and already spotless robe before making his way over to crouch next to Rin.

"What is it about them that interests you?" He cocked his head, eyes roaming over Rin's face as though to commit every feature to memory.

"I'm not an earth elemental, but even I can see none of these should be able to grow in this." Rin lifted a handful of the black sand, sifting it through his fingers. "I can feel fire in it."

Sousuke watched the sand sift through his fingers, seemingly enraptured by the gesture. "It's volcanic. You're wrong though, the trees grow like weeds. Everything does. The sand is good for it."

He watched Rin paw through the sand a few seconds longer before reaching out to run tentative fingertips through it himself, like a child only just learning how to explore the world around him. Rin watched from the corner of his eye, feeling a prick of fondness despite himself. Sousuke had centuries more experience to draw upon, and if this garden was any indication then his skills had not gone to waste during his exile. Yet he watched everything with a sort of wide-eyed inquisitiveness Rin would never have expected of a god, mimicking Rin's motions as though he could make sense of them by repetition alone.

Nothing was ever as it seemed in the Elsewhere, Haruka had cautioned him; it was a place for the desperate and abandoned. Even abandoned deities, apparently. This man was the farthest thing from a god Rin's mind would have conjured.

"I thought everything here was true to its nature." Rin began again, tracing his name in the sand with a fingertip. "If I can feel fire-"

"You haven't dabbled much with earth, have you?" Sousuke's sincerely questioning tone drew the sting from his words. "I hadn't either until I came here." The last words came on a sigh laden with unspoken melancholy. "I've had plenty of time to practice since then."

"Did you come or were you sent?" Sousuke didn't answer, and sensing the shift in his mood Rin chose not to pursue it. He stood and stretched, blinking up at the sky as he tilted his head all the way back to crack his neck. His eyes tracked a shooting star, marveling at the detail of the sky above them. "How many stars are there?"

"So many questions." Sou murmured almost thoughtfully, no annoyance in his tone. "Millions. As many as I have ever seen."

"Do you recreate them every night?"

That startled a laugh out of his host at least, warm and rich if short. Rin started to smile, but Sousuke's words wiped it from his face before it had a chance to truly begin: "It's always night here. This is _my_ home."

Rin noticed the strange emphasis on the words, but thinking back to that telling sigh he chose not to ask the question that first came to mind. Little good it did him, apparently his host could read his face as easily as a book.

"Do you think it is a strange that a god of the moon, the purest water elemental, cannot summon flame?" His tone was encouraging, like a tutor prompting a reluctant student to all the right conclusions. "Water is mine, even earth if I am careful." The twist of his features suggested he had not always been, "But fire is beyond me. Even if I could, I can't remember what it feels like any more." He glanced down at his arm, the constellation of freckles there and the myriad beneath hinting that had not always been the case. Moon god he might have been, but it was obvious Sousuke had once loved the sun.

Rin drew a breath, releasing it forcefully as he called fire to the palm of his hand. Nothing too grand, just a flickering blaze even the youngest of novices might have called. Sousuke's gaze flew to his hand with naked shock, forgetting himself enough that his mouth opened on a gasp of surprise. Rin smiled widely, "I can't bring the sun here or anything, but if you want fire-"

"Yes." Sousuke hurried to his side, almost forgetting himself enough to touch the flame. "Please, yes."

Rin started, his turn to be shocked. Gods didn't say 'please', as far as he knew they didn't even have a word for the concept, but Sousuke's longing was obvious. He at least understood the word and all its permutations; Rin thought he might even have been willing to beg. The thought wrenched at his heart in a profoundly unpleasant way, sympathy and pity mixing in equal measure.

"Just show me where."

Hardly daring to take his eyes from the flame lest it be extinguished, Sousuke cast about, leading Rin a merry chase about the lake shore and back into the corridors beyond. They were hewn naturally into the stone, veins of different minerals striping the walls in dark scarlets, emeralds and blues. Rin followed dutifully, charmed at his host's enthusiasm. Fire elementals were not so rare beyond the Elsewhere; other fae took them for granted, and Humans all too frequently feared them. Sousuke however, seemed delighted with his skill with not a shred of nervousness to taint it.

Doubtless it helped that his water could have doused the fire in under a second, but even that thought hadn't occurred to Rin until much later.

They stopped at last in a small, intimate room lit by moonstones embedded strategically in the wall and ceiling, mirrors tilted at just such an angle to catch the light and reflect it back.

"Here." Sousuke breathed, hardly daring to disturb the eerie calm of the scene. Rin balked at the thought of leaving his crude fire here; it would chase away the shadows that lurked in the corners, banish the silvery light with gold and bronze, mirrors reflecting the bright blaze instead. Yet this was Sousuke's home, and he was watching Rin with such breathless eagerness the elemental could do nothing but honor the request.

There was even a pit carved into the rock at the center of the room- much like the pits he had seen at the inn only without the scoring and ash of living flame. This pit was pristine, only awaiting its fire to be complete. Feeling a little playful, Rin made a show of calling his fire to it, a cascading flame of white and blue that blinded both of them with its brilliance, Sou's laughter high and reckless beyond him. It settled at last into a roaring blaze of reds and oranges, white only at its base.

With the room lit at last Rin dared a glance around, breath hissing out between his teeth in a whistle as he caught sight of the scrolls tucked neatly into canisters arranged on the wall in no order that he could make of them. A lectern stood before them of finely burnished wood, another brightly illustrated scroll splayed across it, catching the light to reflect the gold of its gilded illustrations.

"A library?" No, too small for that, and what use would a god have for a library? Couldn't they simply see and know everything?

"No, only a collection." Sousuke murmured fondly. "These lost tales find their way to me sometimes, but I don't find so many that I can bear to be parted from them. It's the first time in lifetimes that I've seen them in this light though." He stepped forward to trace the golden lines, fingers lingering on characters probably only ever half seen since his exile. "I wonder if I can still make sense of them."

He turned to glance back at Rin, and the light in his eyes was every bit as warm and welcoming as the fire Rin had conjured. "I am grateful, Rin."

"No problem." If his throat was a little dry it was probably because he had just summoned pure fire, and if his skin felt like it had been scorched, well it was a damn big fire and no one was going to call him on it anyway. But it was a bit of a problem. If he had thought Sousuke looked ethereally pretty beneath the moonlight, it was nothing compared to this:

The firelight picked up amber and bronze accents in his skin that the moon had all but bleached from him. The smattering of dark freckles on his skin were complimented by lighter shades, like a painter's careless brush had scattered them all over. There was healthy color in his cheeks, and gods all help him but Rin could see shadows teasing the shape of his muscled forearm as Sousuke casually pulled down another scroll. It was a sin against nature that this being should be confined to the Elsewhere, a tragedy that he hadn't seen the sun in so long.

"Ah, Haru has found his pelt." Sousuke sighed, worlds of disappointment in the sound. "He's eager to leave. We should go back."

Rin swallowed to wet his throat, licked his lips out of sheer habit before he nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak, still caught up in a study of Sousuke's hair, no longer simply brown but every possible shade of it in every strand. As Sousuke slipped by him he reached out to card gentle fingers through Rin's own locks, "This light suits you better, I think."

Rin nodded dumbly, only half hearing. He followed Sousuke from the room, no longer so wary of the Elsewhere or its denizens but every bit as eager to be gone as his friend.

Haruka was waiting for them when they found the lake at last. Somehow the way back had not been so straightforward as the trek in; several times Sousuke had slipped down hallways Rin was very sure hadn't been there before, but he didn't offer an explanation and Rin didn't ask. Haru practically flew to him, feet hardly seeming to touch the ground as he raced from the lake and across the sand to Rin's side. He eyed Sousuke sideways, almost worried as he took in the cast of Rin's face.

"Where were you?"

"I-"

"Rest easy, Haru. I never intended to keep him."

Rin snorted, but Haru took the words at face value, searching Sousuke's face until he found something there that satisfied him.

"Though it's been so long since I've had company-"

"I know. I ran into one of your companions on the way down." Haru interrupted sourly, "It was… different."

"Likely because you reek of dragon." Sousuke's nose wrinkled with distaste. "What sort of company are you keeping, Haruka?"

Rin hardly noticed the tense silence, too preoccupied with taking in the sight of Haru.

He was changed, and it went beyond the obvious gray and bronze markings that trailed down his neck and shoulders to twine lovingly about his arms and across his chest. It wasn't the way his eyes sparked with a new shade of playful green that only served to accentuate the normally dark blue- like seaweed beneath ocean waves, Rin thought idly- or the way he held himself, infinitely more comfortable in his own skin than Rin had ever seen before. Haru had changed from the inside out, but it was nothing Rin could put his finger on. Nothing uncomfortable or untrustworthy; he was still Haru, but only now was Rin starting to see that the selkie he had known had always been fatigued, always bent beneath an invisible weight. It was more than a little startling. For years now Haru had been a member of the council, one of the most powerful representatives of his kind. Obviously he hadn't even been scratching the surface.

"Rin?"

Haruka's voice was subdued, but it echoed loud as a thunderclap in the quiet. Rin leapt to attention. "Guess we should get going. Wouldn't want to be late for anything."

Haru's eyes flicked from him to Sousuke, back again. "Right." His hand clenched about his forearm protectively, tracing the markings with absentminded affection.

Rin tried not to see the furrow between his brows that was as much pain as weariness. For Haru's sake, he tried not to hate the fire Mako had given him, as much a part of him now as his own skin.

"Right." Haru repeated a second time, straightening his shoulders to dip his head respectfully to Sou. Rin tried not to wince when one of Haru's hands clamped about his shoulder, guiding him to the water's edge with enough thoughtless command in the gesture that Rin was tempted to dig his heels in.

Which he promptly did when he realized Haru was taking him in the water. "Haru, no. I can't. I just fucking woke up and the water-"

"I'm here. You're fine."

"Wait just a damn second." Rin growled.

Miracle of miracles, Haru actually stopped. None too soon either; the water was lapping at Rin's toes and it would be a century at least before he ever wanted to feel that again. Not so long ago he had nearly drowned himself in his best friend's element and now that same friend was going to lead him into the lion's den without an explanation? Not a chance.

"The exit. Is that. Way." Rin gritted out, tossing his head toward the way they had come.

"This will be faster."

"This will be _wetter_." Rin snapped, eying the lake distrustfully. Haru had been down there too long for his liking; he couldn't possibly hold his breath that long.

"It's safer." Haru countered. "Especially now that I have my pelt. It'll only be a moment, I promise."

"He could always stay if he preferred."

Rin nearly leapt out of his own skin at Sousuke's surprisingly close voice. He whirled, hissing his displeasure as he took that crucial step backward into the water. His skin crawled at the sensation, but the heavy weight of fear in his gut dissipated slightly. The lap of water on his ankle was not as revolting as he had thought it would be.

"You're not funny." He said flatly, but Sousuke wasn't exactly smiling either.

"How long is a moment? Are we talking seconds or minutes?"

"Less than a minute." Haru assured him, twitching spasmodically. He wanted out of here, that much was obvious, and it was just as obvious that Sousuke didn't want to bid his farewells yet either.

"If you're lying to me-"

"Don't finish that thought." Haru cut in firmly, eyes flashing with annoyance. "You're insulting me."

"Sorry." Rin murmured, taking another cautious step. "You sure there's a way out here?"

"Always." Sousuke spoke again, a suggestive tendril of some unidentifiable emotion seeping into the word. "Deep water can always bring you here, but it will only take you home if you already know the way."

Rin laughed mirthlessly, "Can any of you give me a straight answer for once?"

"If we leave now, we'll be in the enclave in less than a minute. Can I say it any plainer?"

Rin drew a deep breath; before he could do more Haru yanked him down into the deep.

Coughing and sputtering, Rin didn't resist when Haru tugged him from the lake, running shaking fingers through his hair.

"Fast enough?" Haru didn't bother stifling his teasing grin, not deterred in the slightest by Rin's glower.

"Fast enough, asshole. A little more warning would have been nice."

"I didn't want you overthinking it." Haru helped him to his feet, practically dancing on his toes with excitement. Rin couldn't find it in himself to stay peeved, not when Haru was so obviously on top of the world with his soul laid bare for all the world to see.

"Because overthinking is what I'm known for." Rin chuckled wryly, surprised that he even had it in him. When Haru had said it would take less than a minute Rin had assumed he meant something like fifty-nine seconds, not a blink and a breath. Not that he was complaining; Rin had the feeling it would be years before he dared deep water again, though privately he could admit that with Haru at his side the journey hadn't been as nerve-wracking as it could have been.

He shook himself off like a dog after a bath, ignoring Haru's delighted laughter as he was speckled by flying droplets. The lake they had surfaced in looked much like any other at first glance, but the dark patch in the center… Rin looked away before it had a chance to sink in. Sousuke had claimed deep water was a doorway to his domain, but much as Rin had pitied him, much as he had enjoyed the god's unguarded reactions, he wouldn't be setting foot there again any time soon. Not through the water or the gate.

Down to business. With pelt in hand and hides safely intact despite their close brush with that other world, there was still the matter of a binding to attend to. "You're still going through with this, right?"

The words were hushed, but they fell heavy as a ton of bricks between them. Haru's enthusiasm visibly dimmed at the reminder. "Y'know, Sousuke would probably let you-"

"Forsake my debt?" Haru shook his head, "No. And I wouldn't ask it of him either. We're going to Mako."

Rin glanced down at his sopping clothes, huffing with resignation. "We can change first, right?"

Haru didn't even dignify his question with an answer. From too many years of prior experience, Rin knew that was a resounding No.

!

* * *

!

 _5:07_

Makoto hated that clock. Hated the sickly green glow of the display, the seconds counting down in the corner that he absolutely refused to look at, the screen still clinging to the plastic because Rei wouldn't let him smudge it with his fingertips. Mostly though, he hated the time. After being dragged out of his bed at an unheard of hour of the morning, poring over documents Rei had slyly insinuated into his roster every time it looked like he might try to cut and run early, attending all the meetings he had been putting off for several days…

After all that Haru hadn't been waiting for him by day's end seven minutes ago. Not that he expected Haruka to break the terms of their deal, and in his euphoria he had foolishly forgotten to set a definitive time that Haru could seek him out, but a man could hope. Had hoped and was bitterly disappointed.

Unlike Rei whose face had lit up like a summer morning when he spotted Nagisa sprawled across the pristine couch in the waiting room, tie dangling from his right hand and button-down shirt charmingly ruffled. Mako tried not to be begrudge them their obvious contentment. His turn would come; hopefully sooner rather than later. Until then he tried to tune out Nagisa's idle chatter. Until the conversation inevitably turned to him, of course.

"What's eating you?" Nagisa uncurled enough to rest his head on the armrest, reluctantly wrenching his eyes away from Rei where he sat bent over a keyboard, finishing off the last of his work. Mako felt a tiny prick of remorse; had he been more involved in his work rather than dwelling on Haruka, Rei could have been on his way home by now. Yet as per usual he stoutly refused to leave the office until all the day's tasks were complete.

"Nothing." Makoto tried for a neutral tone, but there was a rumble beneath his words that gave them the lie.

Nagisa's gaze brightened with interest, sensing all the secrets he shouldn't. "Doesn't have anything to do with Rin, does it? I heard there was some sort of scuffle." Nagisa paused suggestively before delivering the final blow. "And that Haruka was involved. Which I figure means you're involved too."

"Where do you hear all these things?" Rei tsked so that Mako didn't have to.

"Inter-species advocate, remember?" Nagisa tapped the pin on his lapel, smirking proudly. "I was with a client today when Gou came in. She was distressed." His lips curled at the memory. As a demon- an incubus, Rei had smugly corrected him once without even a hint of a blush- Nagisa was always vulnerable to emotions. The stronger the emotion, the more of an impression they left. Makoto gathered fear left a particularly bitter aftertaste.

Even Rei paused in his work, glancing at Mako over the top of his glasses. Two instincts warred inside him: the first to hoard his secrets, the second to show off his treasure. The latter won by a landslide.

"Haru and I had a mutual interest. We've made an arrangement." He said carefully, hating the way the words sounded on his tongue, but there was only so much he was willing to share. Haruka had willingly given his soul into Mako's keeping, and Mako would not for all the world jeopardize it. Neither was he about to admit to striking a bargain; not until it was completely struck.

"That's not intriguing at all." Nagisa arched a golden brow, sharing a look with Rei that spoke volumes. Makoto wondered how many decades it had taken for them to perfect that wordless communication. "Is it a sexy arrangement?"

There. That look for instance indicated that if Nagisa had been sitting closer, Rei would have stomped on his shoe.

"No." Mako nipped that line of inquiry in the bud with a single syllable, pleased to see it vexed Nagisa to no end.

"Then what's the point?" He muttered rebelliously, pretending to lose interest. Mako wasn't fooled in the slightest; Nagisa could have rivaled any dragon for acquisitiveness, particularly when it concerned rumors and secrets.

Mako glanced at the clock again. _5:20_ it taunted. He rose and stretched, making a show of gathering his things as nonchalantly as possible. Perhaps Haru wasn't even expecting to find him here in his office of all places; perhaps he had chosen to quite literally beard the dragon in his den. Immeasurably cheered by the thought Mako bid a hurried goodbye to Rei, tipping Nagisa a sly smile but nary a word as he made his way out of the office with ground-eating strides, making for his home as fast as legs could carry him.


	5. Chapter 5

Haru wasn't waiting for him when Mako finally wended his way home. Not that he had actually expected it beyond a pleasant fantasy. Not that he had a right to expect it at all.

He took the long way, meandering through side streets and the busy squares filled with other fae. His skin prickled with awareness of their wary glances. Something alerted them that he didn't quite belong; after so many years among them Mako had finally given up trying to puzzle out exactly what it was.

By the time he reached the high-rise he called home Mako had grave reservations concerning his ability to operate even the lift to his own apartment. He cursed himself a half-dozen times for insisting it should function by sigil in much the same manner as the entrances to the Shade. Normally he would hardly even have noticed the small amount of his reserve it drained. After Rin though, he found even the idea of sparking a match exhausting. He dismissed the thought, tracing the sigil for his common name on the door. It opened for him, but slowly as though to mock his fatigue.

He let his glamor partially lapse as soon as the doors had closed behind him, uncaring that his skin betrayed dragon scales or that his carefully manicured nails became lethal claws to tap an impatient tattoo on the cherrywood railing. It was already pitted in several places from dozens of such assaults.

The idea of a roaring fire held undeniable appeal. He could curl up on his couch, wrapped in the thickest blanket he could find and bask in the light and heat. Only he would need to use the kindling and fuel he kept near the fireplace, meaning the flames would not be quite so bright or warm as he was accustomed to. It had been years since anything but his own magic had lit the hearth.

But he would have a fire after a day like today, cheap imitation or not.

The doors opened in no time at all, thirty floors flying by in practically as many seconds. Mako tried not to sprint to the common room and the promise of fire but was only partially successful. He shed his jacket along the way, yanking viciously at his tie and tossing it unceremoniously to the other side of the couch from where he intended to sleep.

Most days Mako kept his home scrupulously clean and well-ordered. He wanted nothing in the common areas to suggest anyone lived on this level. Nothing personal that could betray him for what he was or what weaknesses he concealed. It was only force of habit, he knew, but for centuries that habit had kept him alive and relatively unbothered. Every time he tried to break it some treacherously persuasive whisper suggested that treaties too were meant to be broken.

If he needed an example of the fae turning on their own kin, he had but to think of Haru and his people. What few of them were left.

Haru. Every thought inevitably circled back to Haru. That wasn't new to Mako in the least, but he had thought that striking a deal with the selkie would have tamed the impulse. He had been wrong, now nestled at the core of him was a little ember of delight that he couldn't resist fawning over. Haru had offered his soul, for the life of a friend, but he had trusted a dragon enough to give his soul into its keeping. Had trusted Mako enough to give such a vital part of himself into his keeping.

As long as he held it, Haru would stay. Age would not touch him as it did the books and scrolls in Mako's library, death would not separate them, Haru would be safe here along with the rest of Mako's treasures, but so much more dear because it had been his choice. Mako squirmed in the blanket with delight; he hadn't always known Haru for his mate, much too young when they had first met to possess that sense, but he would show Haru how well he had prepared for their bonding.

The pools on the first level of his home were vast, cream and precious oils well-stocked for whenever Haru cared to use them. Chain mail from younger, more violent times to protect skin that tore so easily stored next to the fine silk suits tailored for equally vicious battles that wouldn't draw blood. Illustrated manuscripts of selkie lore took pride of place next to his own tomes on draconic myths, all of them kept low enough that Haru would never need the benefit of steps or wings to reach them.

Unfortunately none of his manuscripts detailed precisely what to expect from welcoming his mate into his home, none of them mentioned that sacred bond at all. Everything was new, all of it unexpected, from the small shard of Haru that had already embedded itself in him to the foreign feel of water magic that jarred discordantly with his own flame. Would it ever feel natural? He had no way of knowing; for as far back as their records went, no one had ever even briefly mentioned a dragon paired to a selkie.

He tossed and turned restlessly, finally dragging himself out of his blanketed burrow to light the fire, pursing his lips with the barest hint of frustration until it finally sparked. Haru still hadn't turned up, and the tick of the clock upstairs echoed through the room like the footsteps of doom.

Had it been anyone else, Mako might have suspected a trick. His flame was already roaring through Rin, drawing on his energy but free of him at last. Hr had nearly swallowed his tongue a few hours ago when his peripheral sense of Rin had vanished into the ether, like a tightly wound string suddenly cut. He could feel him again though, somewhere close in the city. It was galling that he could more easily trace Rin than his own mate… but then Haru wasn't exactly his mate yet.

How he knew that Mako couldn't say, likely some instinct long suppressed that warned him his possession ran only one way. He couldn't be content until Haru had claimed him in kind. The thought sent a thrill of anticipation through him for the days ahead, when even the fae of the council would look on in envy at how seamlessly he and Haru were bound together, how perfectly matched they were in every way that mattered.

With these thoughts swimming in his head, Mako drifted into a much-needed nap punctuated only by pleasant dreams. This time there were no gut-wrenching visions of flying, no sensation of wind above and beneath him to be cruelly ripped away as soon as he woke. Instead he dreamed of Haru and his troves, old memories still vivid from dwelling in them so long and glimpses of a future he had only just taken the first step toward realizing.

Bells chimed nearby, loud, deep and decidedly unwelcome. Makoto roused slowly, muscles trembling as he stretched; it was a sign of how weary he was that it took a few seconds more for him to realize that the chime was his own bell. His guest was impatient.

Makoto started to lie back again, perfectly content to annoy such an insistent guest by making them wait a little longer. Then he remembered precisely whom he was waiting for and darted from the couch to his cell in record time, tapping the app impatiently until it unlocked the door.

Not the elevator though. Hurriedly he shrugged back into his jacket, pulling his tie tight about his throat with the air of a man pulling on a noose and making his way to the elevator. By the time he reached the bottom floor, his glamor was intact and if his suit looked a little disarranged then at least the overall effect was charming.

He couldn't say the same for the sight that greeted him in the lobby: Haru and Rin stood side by side, both of them attracting surreptitious glances from staff and residents alike.

Rin's clothes were smudged with what looked like ash, and the scent of Fire clung to him like too-strong cologne, his hair fell free about his shoulders, no longer bound up and was dripping an ever-growing puddle of water on the floor. He looked like a drowned rat, and his face said he felt like one too.

Haru was slightly better off. His clothes were plastered to every line of his body, beginning to dry just enough that they were no longer translucent. His shorter hair had dried fast, softer and finer than Mako remembered, and his memories of Haru were unimpeachable.

Mako blinked, recognizing immediately as every other fae must that Haru wore his pelt. His skin was a strange shade between ivory and amber, beneath it the merest suggestion of mottling, like a smattering of light and fine freckles. His eyes had a glow to them, muted but undeniable, that instantly caught Mako's gaze.

He made straight for them, unhurried but not leisurely. Everyone here would see and know what Haru was, and that could put him in danger.

"Mako." Haru greeted quietly as he approached. Rin was tapping an impatient tattoo with his foot, clearly the one who had been ringing so insistently. Mako bared his fangs at him in a none-too-subtle mimicry of a smile but Rin only smiled back and kept up the maddening rhythm.

If Mako hadn't been so tired and dressed in all the traps of civilization, he might have discarded his glamor and threatened to eat him jut to make a point. Of course with Haru's eagle eye on him, there was no chance of that. Rin was fortunate in his friends.

"Haru. Come upstairs." Please. Mako had never minded attention, had even been known to show off a time or two, but the way everyone was visibly dissecting Haru had his hackles rising. Rin sighed impatiently, rolling his eyes to heaven even as Haru grabbed his arm and tugged him insistently along, making for the same elevator Makoto had come down in with no further invitation.

Makoto didn't like it. He trailed after them, tracing his sigil before subtly insinuating himself between Haru and Rin. He resented the elemental's presence, but if Haru felt uneasy about entering the dragon's proverbial den without his ever-present knight then Mako wasn't going to object.

Rin hummed softly, instinctively sensing the muted hostility of the dragon beside him. Thankfully the doors slid open again before either one of them could speak.

"I've never seen your home before." Haru's words cut the tension like a hot knife through butter, exactly as he intended. Mako hurried to his side, Rin's presence immediately forgotten.

"In my experience, very few fae ever trust an invitation."

They shared a smile, small and uncertain, but Haru's melted away before his next words: "Where can you keep my pelt?" He swallowed, the first sign of nervousness Mako had seen since he first proposed the exchange. "Can you keep it safe?"

"Of course." Mako couldn't resist reaching out to him, bridging the small but interminable space between them to clasp Haru's forearm in a reassuring grip. The muscles under his hand were tight with fear. Haru was no coward, and Mako hadn't seen any fear in him for at least a human lifetime. It made him uneasy.

Haru nodded, more to himself than acknowledging Mako's words. An unreadable glance passed between Rin and he, though whatever the content of their unspoken conversation Rin clearly disagreed with the conclusion.

"What the hell kind of friend asks another for his soul?"

"Stop it." Haru snapped, with enough bite in his voice that Rin actually obeyed. His runes glowed ostentatiously, the only sign of his displeasure otherwise.

"That's not why I brought you here."

 _Ah_. So there had been some reason aside from nerves. Mako glanced between them, eagerly awaiting enlightenment. Haru met and held his questioning glance, dropping words Mako hadn't even dreamed of hearing for years to come: "I want us bonded."

He nearly swallowed his tongue in shock, heart kicking into a painful tattoo, mouth dry as a desert and eyes wide as dinner plates, he was sure. Whatever his face showed, Haru misinterpreted it for a denial because Mako could see his face freeze in the studiously neutral expression he had been practicing ever since he joined the council.

"I realize you upheld your end of the bargain, and I am prepared to fulfill mine."

Rin grumbled, but didn't interrupt.

"But my pelt-" Haru brushed an unthinking hand down his arm, trembling with excitement and trepidation. "Traditionally we don't part from them. I want to stay near it. I want to stay here, and if this part of me is in your keeping, I want a surety in return."

"Of course." Breathed Mako, hardly able to force the air past the constriction in his throat. "Stay. This is your home. It's yours." _I'm yours. You're_ mine.

"Rin, will you witness?"

"What?"

If Rin wouldn't, Makoto had Nagisa on speed dial for just such emergencies as this. Rin was Haru's closest friend though, much as Mako might envy him. He came to stand beside Haru, fixing Rin with a warning look. Witnesses couldn't be compelled, but if Rin ruined their first day together Mako intended to quietly suggest he had seen the errant wisps that had taken Rin's flames somewhere very watery and cold.

"Sure." Rin conceded finally, if with less enthusiasm than Haru had been hoping for. His runes flared to life as he summoned flame; "How's this gonna work between opposite elements?"

"I'm not sure." Mako and Haru chimed together. Rin raised his brows, bemused but cooperating at least.

"Blood." Rin said shortly, wincing as Haru's fine claw drew across the pale skin of his underarm to raise a thin, bloody welt.

Makoto wasted no time, his own cut a little less elegant than Haru's almost surgical incision. There was a time the fae had made a show of such sports as these, rending themselves open and deliberately shedding their blood to show devotion. Now it required precious little blood of them, and only to seal the most sacred of covenants.

Haru clasped his forearm, forgetting his claws so that they pierced Mako's skin enough to bead his blood. Makoto reveled in Haru's unthinking strength.

His own claws pierced Haru's skin and he would have pulled back but Haru's grip only tightened, lips twisting in a self-mocking smile. "Blood for blood."

"Blood for blood." Mako echoed, not trying to dig any deeper, but making no attempt to dull his claws either.

"Brace yourselves." Rin.

The next moment Mako felt his own flames returning to him, scorching every cell in his body with life-giving heat, stealing the breath from his lungs and instantly banishing the fatigue that had sunk into his bones. Haru seized in his grip, back bowing and teeth grinding. Mako reached out his free arm to draw him close, tucking Haru into his shoulder and bracing him there while Haru shook and groaned, muscles tensing spasmodically.

He nearly ordered Rin to stop, but this had been Haru's choice, and so only he could end it. It took him only a few seconds longer to realize that Haru wasn't in pain, that the panting in his ear was as much pleasure as distress and that Haru's teeth were biting into his suit in a desperate attempt to keep his voice from escaping.

Makoto struggled to keep even a vestige of his glamor as raw power coursed through him, but seeing Haru's distress he allowed his paper-thin wings to spread, enfolding both of them in a protective cocoon to shield them from prying eyes. Haru's skin felt impossibly hot, even through the fabric of his coat- Mako drew the heat as much as he could, giving silent thanks when the flame receded.

They stood there a second longer, Haru's pupils blown wide in preternatural blue eyes, his claws reluctantly surrendering their purchase on Mako's arm. He didn't attempt to pull away, and Mako didn't encourage.

"Everyone all right?" Rin again, the voice of reason today.

Makoto wove his glamor back together piece by piece. Beginning with his own claws, his eyes, teeth, the impression of scales beneath his skin and finally the light jade cloak of his wings. Or at least he started to, but Haru reached out with one slender claw to trace the shadow of a vein.

"They look so delicate." He murmured.

"Cuts are always slow to heal." Mako conceded grudgingly, hyper-aware of the fire elemental doubtless watching their shadows from without.

"What cut them?" The barest hint of a fang; Makoto shivered.

"A few things over the years." In a moment more they were gone, leaving Haru staring at thin air.

Could Haru feel the new filament of the bond between them? Like new skin rubbed raw, Mako had never felt so naked even when he first surrendered his primal form. Haruka swallowed tightly, folding his arms in a frail imitation of Makoto's protective embrace-

"Congratulations." Rin said, dry enough that neither one of them could mistake it for sincerity. "You all right, Haru?"

"Fine." Haru's breath shuddered out of him softly; his muscles were still twitching, and he shifted restlessly, swallowing repeatedly. Evidently Fire still didn't agree with his Water.

"Thank you, Rin." Mako began, trying for at least some semblance of grace even as he mentally willed Rin to leave already.

"It wasn't-" Rin caught the wintery eyes Haru fixed on him and changed his mind, "A problem. At all." He bared his fangs, all of them. "I hope everyone here remembers the nasty consequences of breaking a blood covenant sealed in fire though?"

"You must be exhausted." Makoto's smile was every bit as warm as Rin's: fit to burn the house down. "And you're soaked to the bone. Go home and clean up, we don't mind."

Haru nodded slowly, "I know I asked a lot. Go home, sleep it off."

Faced with a united front, Rin threw his arms about Haru in a tight farewell embrace, whispering something to him before they parted. Makoto couldn't hear it over the blood rushing in his ears, the subvocal growl that started in his gut and nearly made it to his mouth before he remembered that today he was on his best behavior.

It didn't stop him from showing Rin to the door and ensuring he went into the elevator.

"Haru is tired too." He started, watching Mako from the corner of his eye.

"We all are." Makoto agreed amicably enough.

"He needs rest." Rin pushed, gaze sharpening.

Makoto finally caught the gist of his concern: "Haru isn't a virgin, I haven't stolen him away to ravish him." _Yet_. "Give me some credit for controlling my beastly impulses." He added sarcastically.

He waited until Rin pressed the button, stopping the doors with a casual wave of his hand. "People that get tangled in the business of dragons or make a habit of laying hands on their treasures tend to get a little singed. Even fire elementals."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about." Rin snapped at the doors that had slid shut in his face.

 _Damn_. Of course he had heard that dragons had a temper, but he had always thought Makoto had tamed his. Clearly not. Meaning Haruka had just walked into a fire-breathing dragon's den with eyes wide open. Rin had no choice but to believe he knew what he was doing.

!

!

When Makoto returned, he found Haru was already exploring his new home- tracing the patterns etched in the brick fireplace, studying the few baubles above the hearth with a keen eye to detail. Selkies weren't usually the same class of hoarders as Makoto and his kind, but as a species they had always been known for a love of bright, colorful things. Soon Haru's emerald sea glass vials and polished stones would take pride of place next to Mako's own collection of amber and glasswork.

Haru turned him as soon as he heard Mako's footsteps. "Where will you keep my pelt?"

"Near me." He had struck a steep bargain of his own for the striking glass chest, ensorcelled to catch any eyes that lingered too long. He had impressed his own power into it, his own nasty tricks in addition to the captromancer's unforgiving traps. Any unfamiliar hand that attempted to open it would bear the brand for an eternity. If the thief was wily enough not to be trapped indefinitely in the false reflection.

Makoto had tested it exactly once, when he was younger and more arrogant. He had been satisfied with its protections once he had recovered from them.

"Show me."

Mako nodded slowly, "Don't look at the chest straight on. Keep it in the corner of your eye."

Haru trembled slightly as though brushed by a cool breeze. Mako wondered if they had shared a similar experience. "A chest?" He murmured finally, "I think you might be older than me."

"Hm." After the first few centuries, it was hard to keep count.

Mako bounded up the steps to the second level, Haru following closely on his heels. In theory the master bedroom was on the first floor, but he had always preferred the highest possible perch. He had settled nicely in what should have been a guest room, complete with a walk-in closet that hid those things he never let out of his sight behind his hanging suits.

Haru didn't even have the grace to look surprised, though Mako couldn't help the stab of smugness when his eyes returned again to the bed that took up most of the space in the room, piled high with pillows and blankets. Soft, warm and impossibly tempting after a day like today. He cast his own longing glance at it, wishing Haru would ask to stay, wishing he could curl around him and keep him close while they slept.

All in good time. For now he just needed to make sure Haru had a reason to come to his home again and again; that he would never stray too far.

Then he had plans for that bed. They could pick out new sheets together when Haru had shredded the sapphire velvet in his desperation. Maybe a few more pillows, the better to muffle his needy groans in as he watched Haru move above him.

The mirror chest banished the last of his pleasant thoughts, sitting innocuously beneath a hardwood desk pressed against the farthest wall.

"You work in here?" Haru asked softly, picking up on his unease. "With no windows?"

"Easier to focus." Mako admitted, eyes sliding around the box but very careful not to look directly at it, making doubly certain not to meet his own eyes in the reflection. "Don't look."

He slid his palm across the locking mechanism, concealing a relieved breath when it clicked open to reveal nothing but rowan wood. Safe.

Mako turned back, relieved to see Haru pointedly looking the other way. He didn't glance down again until he saw Mako's gesture out of the corner of his eye. He eyed the inside of the chest for a moment, glancing to Mako one last time before finally nodding his assent. Still he hesitated though, arms clasped about himself as he prepared to strip his spirit away and lock it in a box in a monster's lair.

Uncomfortably familiar with that feeling himself, Mako almost reached out to him-

In a gesture too swift for a Human eye to follow, Haru stripped his pelt away, sinking back into the comfort or prison of his glamor. He seemed smaller, frailer, a little dulled around the edges somehow. Clasped to his chest he held what seemed to be a cloak or a veil, shining like a bubble caught in sunlight.

He had expected Haru to lay it in the chest himself, but of course he was never content to be predictable. Makoto nearly fumbled the precious pelt when Haru pressed it into his hands, solemn and expectant. Makoto wasn't sure what was expected of him, but he knelt and laid the pelt inside with as much grace as his shaking hands could muster.

Haru was honoring the deal, of course, but Selkie were notoriously protective of their pelts and seldom did even another fae have the privilege of touching one. Mako would never even have thought to hold it.

Closing the chest firmly, he stood, unable to find the words for what he was feeling but equally unable to hold his tongue. Fortunately Haru shocked him into silence once more before he said something regrettable: "Where will I sleep?"

Right. Haru intended to stay. No coaxing or cajoling needed, no slow and grueling courtship- selkies did not part from their pelts lightly, and for all his years of experience Haru was no different.

"You don't expect me to leave now?" Haruka already knew the answer or Mako was sure his tone would not have been so amicable. "Selkies stay in the homes where their pelts are kept."

"I know." Of course. Wasn't that exactly what he had counted upon, and now that his strategy was paying off, Mako still found himself surprised it had worked out precisely as he hoped.

"There's a room downstairs-"

"You took my blood and my pelt. I took your blood and your oath." Haru arched a brow, expecting Mako to jump to all the right conclusions.

He did. Quickly. "I sleep on the left." Nearest the door where he could sleep between Haru and any threat.

Haru smiled, and Mako began to wonder which of them had been the fiddler and which the fiddle. Or perhaps they were merely the dancers trying to keep up with fate's tune. It was a viscerally terrifying thought.

!

!

!

Long after Makoto's breath had evened out in sleep, Haru lay awake. He pretended to trace the constellations with eyes that flicked to Mako nearly every other second. He looked… sweet, somehow, bundled in the down comforter and curling in on himself, hair flying every which way on his pillow.

In all their years as friends, Mako sleeping was not something he had ever seen. Not something he had ever expected to see either. Watching him now, Haru could almost forget that this was the same man that had dangled his friend's life before him, lured him right into the palm of his hand and taken his pelt.

His lips still remembered that fierce kiss that had sealed their bargain though, and now his hand knew the feeling of clenching Makoto's sinewy shoulder to keep his balance. He knew the scent of Mako's suit as he pressed his face into it and the feel of dragon's wings wrapped around him like the gentlest yet most unforgiving armor.

He hissed, annoyed that his body warmed even now to remember the flare of Mako's fire through him, the bond Rin had pressed on them settling into a hollow place he hadn't even known he had. Ecstasy and agony in equal measure. He was grateful Mako had shown Rin the door so quickly, because shame had quickly taken its place once the bonding was complete.

From the dazed look on Mako's face, he gathered neither one of them had expected such a reaction. Even now he felt Mako's fire in him, just an ember in that no longer hollow place.

Shifting uncomfortably, Haru turned away. Alone he would have shed his clothes and taken matters into his own hands, but as it was he had to suffer quietly through the pangs of uncomfortable arousal. Worse, now he had some idea of what it could be like between them. Mako leaning against the headboard, claws digging into his hips while Haru rutted against him, gossamer wings draped against his back.

Makoto's face buried in his feathery pillows while he tried to muffle his keening pleas, gasping when Haru's hand fisted in that burnished bronze hair to pull him up and demand he ask.

Or tracing the scales he had seen shifting beneath that skin, nipping at claws that could easily rend his flesh, watching Mako's eyes flash with a dragon's greed.

Haru wanted him, but Makoto had acquired him as yet another treasure. A selkie, that rarest of status markers that so loathed being kept and was notoriously swift in vengeance. After all their years of friendship, Haru had to believe there was more to his scheme than that. He had to believe Mako had more regard for him than that.

He just couldn't decide whether he trusted that instinct enough to hand his body and heart over to Mako now that the dragon had laid claim to his soul without first knowing what he intended to do with them.

Deceptively strong arms wrapped about him, dragging him inexorably across the bed to tuck against Mako's warmth. He didn't resist, letting himself be drawn close and kept there, allowing the rhythmic sound of Mako's breathing to lull him into a deep and restful sleep.

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!

Aaand I completely forgot to post chaps 3 and 4 here. A windfall of updates!

Next up: Mako is a show-off, Rin makes questionable life choices and Rei is unflappable until he isn't.


	6. Chapter 6

Nagisa didn't bother hiding his relief once Makoto and his restless energy finally took their leave of the building. He had a headache starting behind his eyes that promised to be every kind of unpleasant unless he found some relief. It dulled a little once he no longer felt Mako in his periphery, Rei's presence smoothing the edge from it though his temples still throbbed. He reclined on the couch lazily, drifting in and out of consciousness to the sound of the keyboard tapping, waking himself occasionally with an aborted snore.

When he woke again, it was half past six and Rei was watching him from where he slouched in his high-backed chair, hands folded comfortably across his stomach and a contented smile hovering on his lips.

"You look pleased with yourself." Nagisa shook the last of his nap off, intrigued by the undercurrent of lust underpinning Rei's happiness- trite but true: it was a surefire way to catch an incubus' attention.

"My work is done, my colleagues have gone home, my lover is practically begging me to kiss him awake and fuck him into the couch he's so charmingly arranged on." His voice was a mellow hum, smile widening when he noticed the way Nagisa perked up.

"I see how it is." Nagisa smirked, stretching as far as he could so that the buttons over his chest strained tantalizingly; Rei's gaze focused there unerringly. "I'm an incubus, so all I'm good for is sex."

"I only want you for your body." Rei solemnly intoned, losing the battle and grinning outright.

Disregarding his fatigue and threatening headache Nagisa rolled gracefully off the couch and slinked nearer to Rei, shedding his coat and tossing it away carelessly. Rei hissed, always so neat he couldn't stand to see a wrinkle or thread out of place let alone the coat that had cost the better part of a month's paycheck, but why would he have sprung for the charms unless he was going to get his money out of them? If his clothes couldn't survive a little carelessness they weren't destined to last long anyway. That didn't stop Rei narrowing his eyes at the coat, flicking them back up to Nagisa in mute disapproval.

By all the gods he loved his man.

Nagisa stopped in front of Rei's chair, angled his way between his knees. Spread in unconscious welcome already, Nagisa thought with a smirk, and threaded their hands together with a light squeeze.

"Long day?" Rei murmured, playing with his fingers absently while his eyes drifted over the lines of Nagisa's face. He had an uncanny knack for reading the expressions there; sometimes Nagisa wondered if there wasn't a little demonic blood somewhere in the Ryuugazaki family line.

"You were gone before I even woke up and you're asking if _I_ had a long day?"

Rei tugged until Nagisa finally relented and fell into his lap, curling up there a little uncomfortably, though he wouldn't have traded his seat for a princely sum of gold. "Longest day I've had in months, honestly. I don't know what's going on, but everyone is jumpy lately. I'm seriously considering investing in a coffee machine and a mini-fridge just so I won't have to visit the break room."

He ignored Rei's stifled laughter in favor of trailing a suggestive hand from his shirt collar down to his pants. Rei was genuinely concerned for him, but that small spark of lust hadn't yet died and Nagisa rather hoped to rekindle it. Rei caught his hand and squeezed lightly, affectionate as ever. Nagisa gently disentangled it and went back to playing with Rei's buttons, tugging gently on his shirt until he could finally slide it out of his pants.

Slowly Rei gave in and began to fiddle with Nagisa's tie, mischief painting his face just before he yanked him in for a kiss. "Mako bought adjustable desks for the whole office. I thought we could try one out for ourselves."

Nagisa laughed aloud, wobbling on his uncertain perch until Rei's arms stole around his back to pull him closer. "How long have you been planning this?"

"Since the day before I talked him into placing the order."

"You're too good to me."

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!

Nestled under mounds of smothering blankets and curled against the furnace that was Makoto's chest, it was still hours until Haru woke again. He pushed the covers away fitfully but just when he reached for Mako's arm to disentangle himself from the clinging grip of the dragon, Mako hummed so contentedly he could have mistaken it for a large cat's purr. Haru squirmed into a more comfortable position, grumbling sleepily to himself; if only it were winter time he would bask in the heat, would welcome Mako's comforting flames and body heat, but right now he wanted loose.

Winter. Haru's eyes shot open and he stared disbelievingly into the darkness of the room. Winter was months away and without him even realizing it, his brain had been spinning fantasies of warming himself against Mako's chest, curling up together in front of the ostentatious fireplace- or even reclining together in a sinfully grand bathtub filled almost to the brim with steaming water. They could light candles and set them around the edge of the tub, leave the lights off and explore each other's bodies lazily by candlelight.

The images playing in his mind's eye were oh so tempting, but painfully far from the arrangement he currently found himself in. What with the uncertainty of whether he was Makoto's mate as in roommate or… otherwise.

He turned in Makoto's arms, not without a struggle, and pushed away from Mako's chest to get a good look at his face: the faint lines of laughter and worry had faded in his sleep but there was no mistaking the smug curl of his lips for anything but a smile. Haru brushed the hair away from his forehead gently to get a better look, pausing when Mako's lashes began to flutter. He didn't want him waking yet and spoiling the precious reverie before they had to confront the reality of what had happened between them.

Haru wasn't sure what that was any more. A few hours ago he would have called it a devil's bargain, a rough start to a one-sided courtship he wasn't sure was going to go anywhere. His skin remembered the feel of Makoto's wings enfolding him, protecting him from Rin's curious, accusing gaze. He remembered the freshly laundered taste of Mako's shirt as he sank his teeth in it, flames licking his skin from the inside that should have been agonizing but instead fed into his own magic until he had felt the ebb and flow of the ocean even beyond the protection of the Shade.

There was a new bond between them that Haru felt even now, unexpected and a little intimidating. Makoto had already taken so much from him; he had meant to move slowly, offering bits of pieces of himself as they built new trust between them. Taking pieces of Mako here and there until he figured out if and how they were going to fit together.

They 'fit' all right. Flawlessly. Even with the bond in blood he had not expected such a reaction, and it left him feeling dazed and anxious. He didn't regret it though, that bond was his surety.

Mako's eyes flicked open without warning and Haru started, pulling away like he'd been scalded. After lifetimes of friendship, Haru still couldn't recall a single time he had ever seen Makoto wake up and he was surprised to find there was something viscerally frightening about how suddenly he was pinned by Mako's slitted pupils. The next second Mako blinked and Haru consciously forced his muscles to relax and his glamor to smooth nails that had instinctively sharpened. Not that his own claws had anything on Makoto's.

"Watching me sleep?" It was nearly a purr, and as far from the elegant, laid-back tone Makoto affected as Haru had heard him in years.

"I could've killed you a dozen different ways in the time it took you to notice." Haru very nearly bit his tongue in embarrassment. Before the accord it was a game he had played with many of his friends, seeing who would wake first when they felt the weight of eyes on them. A grim children's game that he and Rin had finally found it in themselves to laugh at. Not with Mako though, and not so long after the wars as this.

A snort of laughter, brief but understanding. Makoto smiled and Haru couldn't help grinning back, both of them shedding years to become companions again for the briefest second. Mako released him as his smile faded, stretching and yawning. "What time is it?"

Feigning nonchalance, Haru rolled over to glance at the clock. "Nearly ten."

"Might as well sleep the night through and wake early then."

Haru scuttled back before Mako could make bold enough to reach for him again. "I need a bath."

"A bath." Makoto sounded suspiciously enthusiastic. Suspiciously because his face remained meticulously expressionless even as Haru picked up on the undercurrent of delight in his words. "Follow me."

Mako slid out of bed with a sinuous grace that betrayed his heritage, gliding out of the room without even bothering to check if Haru was going to obey. He was tempted to wrap himself in the sheets again and wait for Mako to return and ask, but curiosity got the better of him as it usually did. He didn't delay long in throwing off the rest of the blankets and hurrying after his host; he could still smell something stale from the cave clinging to his skin, and his hair felt gritty and grimy from whatever was in Sousuke's water. Haru would at least have considered selling his pelt again for a luxurious soak in a massive tub; following a dragon deeper into his lair was nothing.

!

!

The room Makoto led him to was a water fae's dream come to stunning life: cerulean blue tiles that shimmered with something Haru suspected might be actual dusted gold glinted up at him from the floor. The walls were an inoffensive ivory, words of power and protective runes etched into the plaster at the corners of the room: peace, wellbeing, health. A few more even Haru didn't recognize, but suspected held far less gentle meanings. Was every room in Mako's absurdly lavish home designed to double as a fortress?

And the baths. Plural. Three of them precisely, sunk into the tile, deep enough that he could have taken a headlong dive into one. The largest of them had a tinkling fountain in the center, surrounded by a miniature island conveniently centered under a heat lamp. One of the smaller ones was set beneath a shower that would sprinkle the entire bath in mock rain. The last seemed downright unremarkable in comparison, though it was easily big enough for three people and had steps of all things! Haru nearly whimpered with lust; there was so much water, and despite himself he could not help but feel secure and relaxed.

"This is… extravagant." It shouldn't have surprised him; Mako was a dragon and given to both greed and lavish displays like this. He was also exactly the sort of man that spared no expense in his hobbies. But he was not a water dragon like most of his kin, and the idea of Mako so loving the element that he could dedicate an entire chamber to it was just another one of the questions Haru mentally filed away.

Mako laughed, "Easy, Haru, I paid a fortune to make sure it doesn't stagnate. You might recognize a few of the purification symbols." Mako nodded to them, a little defensively Haru thought.

He hadn't even seen the purification at work, but he could feel it. Sweet, clean water that was so quick to answer him he had to fight back the impulse to call it. Not even in his earliest memories could he recall such a pure source outside the Elsewhere. Entranced, Haru didn't hesitate to strip off his clothes and make for the smallest bath, shuddering with pleasure at the first touch of water against his skin. Warm, but not unpleasantly so, playfully lapping against his ankles and calves, the merest hum of a song sent it dancing toward him.

Haru submerged himself completely, basking in the feel of good water around him until most humans would have drowned. That was something he didn't have to consider here with only Mako to watch him.

Right. Mako. Surfacing, he looked over to where he had left Makoto only to find he had vanished. He couldn't pretend he wasn't a little relieved; this was the time he needed to organize his thoughts and devise a Battle Plan.

Strangely he was also disappointed. In their younger days, he and Mako had swam and bathed together often. Mako always had a healthy respect for water; it had taken years to coax him into anything deeper than a shallow tub, and years after that to get him into open water. Makoto still regarded the ocean with awe and a fear Haru couldn't pretend wasn't justified. Now all the pieces had fallen together: a dragon with an affinity for fire had every reason to loathe being out of his element.

Falling onto his back, Haru was unsurprised the ceiling was decorated too. A kaleidoscopic mosaic of every shade of blue reflecting the pools of water below, enough to occupy the eye but not overwhelm it. Nothing here had been crafted by half-measure or anything less than a master's hand. If he hadn't known better, Haru could have believed this entire chamber had been crafted with him in mind. He floated until he lost track of time, playing with his hair in the water, scrubbing off the last of the impurities on his skin until he could pretend he hadn't gone anywhere near the Elsewhere recently. Pondering where his deal with Mako left him, and the more practical concerns of notifying the council he had taken up residence with one of the few fae that had managed to personally ensnare or offend every member of their governing body seemingly unawares.

That too made sense now, Haru thought with a smirk, but he had a responsibility to his own kind and he promised himself he wouldn't take advantage of it.

By the time he crawled out of the bath, limp with contentment and scrubbed to within an inch of his life, Haru felt like the sort of man that could take on a dragon. Which was just as well, because that's exactly what he intended to do.

He circled the room once, opening a small closet to find a couple robes: a plush, royal blue with… a monogrammed golden "H" on the left breast? Haru laughed aloud in disbelief, the beginning of a suspicion taking hold. He thumbed the material gently, groaning at the feel of soft terry cloth against his fingers. The one beside it was equally luxurious in a shade of crimson that inevitably drew Haru's eye. No more than the matching "M" on its right breast though.

!

* * *

!

Makoto had ducked out of the bathing room as soon as Haru dipped his foot in the water. It was less a matter of modesty and more self-preservation; the thought of idling around there, trying to keep up a conversation while Haru was making all those sinfully pleased sounds of lust was more of a challenge than he cared to subject himself to. The memory of Haruka stripping so casually out of his clothes, casting them aside with no thought for the other fae in the room was one that would haunt Mako to his dying day. That telling glance over his bare shoulder when he had checked to see if he was alone, the curve of his back and the muscles that shifted as he nearly threw himself onto the steps of the bathing pool.

It had taken Mako over half a century to amass the wealth that had gone into that singular room, and decades more to find a design sure to please Haru and himself. All of it was worth it if only for that suspended moment in time. It was the first of many gifts, and Haru had accepted it. Makoto hadn't had the heart, or honestly the breath, to tell him there was a small shower concealed in the far corner if he cared to wash off the grime before soaking however long he wanted. Not that it mattered. The greater part of his investment had gone to keeping that water clean, and a little dust would be no challenge at all for the magics set on it.

Stripping the covers from the bed, he hummed quietly to himself. He had never been one for music, but he had always enjoyed Haru's melodies: the ones that called his water or that he inadvertently picked up in his travels and carried home. He was giddy, Mako realized with shock; his self-possession had deserted him the moment Haru walked through the door, perhaps even sooner. Haru was staying. No tricks or persuasion… beyond his infernal offer and the courting gifts he intended to offer day after day until Haru accepted his suit or rejected it.

No notable tricks or persuasion then.

The bed was finally freshly made and Mako was lying in it to admire his stars when he heard Haru's inhuman shriek. Loud enough that he was grateful for the silence spells laid around his quarters to keep secrets from wandering, and doubly grateful that he had opted to soundproof anyway. For human neighbors it would have been a few seconds of an unaccountable feeling of unease and a sound just at the edge of their hearing. For sharper ears, the sound was painful in its intensity.

"Tachibana Makoto!"

Makoto barely had time to sit up before Haru stormed into his room, throwing himself across the bed to pin Mako to the covers once more. The robe about his shoulders was answer enough, and his feelings about it were plain from the gently warning press of claws against a suddenly vulnerable Adam's Apple. His eyes were bright, clear, and unerringly focused on Mako's own when Haru finally spoke, voice a subdued hiss of sound. "How long have you been planning this?"

From the robe belted about his waist, just beginning to slip from his shoulders- Mako frowned; it had been tailored to Haru's measurements, but then it had been a while since they had last visited a tailor together- it was every bit as dazzling as Mako had expected. The perfect complement to his eyes and midnight hair. "Calm yourself."

Those were the last words many a foolish human had spoken to a fae, but Haru had always been quick to catch his temper before it could flare. Not this time.

"Did you hurt Rin? Did you send those sons of bitches after us?" His grip didn't tighten, but it didn't relent either.

Offended, Makoto bucked and twisted to free himself from Haru's grip and shove him away. Haru drew a shuddering breath and clamped his hands at his sides, reading in a split second the open fury on Mako's face and rightly interpreting it for a denial.

"If I had wanted to harm a _flickering ember_ like Rin, I wouldn't need lackeys." Mako growled. "I could snuff him out with a _thought_ if it pleased me."

That hadn't come out as he intended, but it was simple truth and thankfully Haru took it as it was meant.

"How would you have struck your deal then?" Haru asked equally bluntly, more reasonable but still simmering at how capably he had been manipulated. "How long, Mako?"

Mako snorted humorlessly. "I can't even remember, Haru, it's been that long," he continued before Haru lunged for him again. "But I didn't plan that bargain. Fate dropped the opportunity in my lap and I took it."

Haru released a breath, shutting his eyes. When he opened them again, they had softened considerably. "Why?"

Spite and vengeance were stock in trade for many of their kind, but the Kindred had been wronged so many times by outsiders and their own people alike that if ever a fae were going to forgive it would be they. Haru was among the eldest of his kind and had survived more than his share of betrayals, had tricked more than one unwary soul into doing exactly what he needed of them. Makoto knew if he answered the question right there was every chance he could make Haru understand. The wrong answer might get the council involved.

He also knew that there were very few people left in the world Haru considered friends, and he would be loathe to lose even one.

"You needed me then, and I had no guarantee you ever would again." That wasn't at all the question Haru had meant and they both knew it, but he was getting complacent if he thought he was going to pry a straight answer from a dragon with such a vague question.

Haru narrowed his eyes and snorted, but he didn't choose to rephrase his question. He settled more comfortably on his heels, and took in Mako's form from head to toe as he spoke: "I'll accept that for now."

For now. Mako's skin prickled with anticipation.

!

* * *

!

A quarter past midnight found Rin still tossing and turning, kicking the covers off only to relent and drag them back to the bed after a few minutes of trying to sleep. He had entertained himself for a few minutes summoning flame to let it dance along his fingertips, a comfort habit he had taken up as a novice and resorted to sometimes even now. Tonight it was no comfort at all, if anything it made the cold weight of anxiety settle in his stomach. It felt like his fire, but it wasn't. He had never been this powerful, never actually had to push the boundaries of his self-control.

Rin thought back to the bonding ritual. He'd almost lost his flames then, whether from the feeling of Makoto drawing on his power or because of his own conflicted emotions and barely constrained anger Rin didn't know. He didn't like it either; fire was always quick to outstrip its masters if they were unwary, and he had always been a hothead anyway. He wondered if it had anything to do with the look Haru had flashed him in the Elsewhere when he called flame to the snuffed candle.

The Elsewhere and its strange outcast weighed equally heavy on his mind. What had he been thinking to leave his fire, any part of his essence, in another creature's keeping? Haru had trusted Sou enough to offer his name, to give his pelt into that being's keeping, but he hadn't lingered either. They were not friends.

Sou's childlike delight at seeing the light took the edge off his nerves, but then better men than he had been damned by their good intentions for less cause.

Stupidly Rin wanted to go back; without Haru to interrupt, maybe he could pry answers out of Sousuke. Like how he had managed to set the stars in his sky or why he made his home in the Elsewhere when he so clearly didn't belong. Who was Haru to him and how had he gone so long without the warmth of sunlight or even a soothing blaze?

At least he recognized his own stupidity, Rin thought. Returning to Sousuke's lair would involve wandering the creepy path again, making his way up a treacherous incline in the darkness without anyone else to guide him, encountering who knew what sort of traps and enchantments at every turn. And all for a little tea and conversation without the tea. No. He wouldn't be chancing that any time soon; the risk far outweighed the gain.

Of course that brought his wandering mind right back to Gou. Who the hell had approved her promotion? Who had looked at his little sister and mistaken her for anything but a child? As a journeyman, she would be hunting fae with centuries on her, always in the company of a master but that wasn't much comfort. Especially not when she had made it plain she would be taking on the case of the punks that had cornered he and Haru: fire against fire, but Gou had more to lose from breaking their rules.

Of all the things Humans had introduced to the fae during their short entente Rin decided he liked "appeals" the best. Tomorrow morning he would stop in, have a word with the master assigned to her and see about having her novice rank reinstated. She would have his head, but she was welcome to it if it kept her in the Shade and well out of fey politics.

After that, if he had the time, he would hunt down the torii Haru had led him through. Just to be sure he knew which part of the city to avoid, to make sure it hadn't moved.


End file.
